Vampire's Kiss
by DemonRider404
Summary: "Vampires have a certain kind of venom in their fangs which is usually injected in the bloodstream when they bite. If you're bitten on the neck, whether you are turned or if you are poisoned to death depends on whether you have the antivenin in your DNA," Stein told his students. So what happens when the school is attacked by rogue vampires...and Soul is bitten? LEMONS later!
1. Bitten

**Disclaimer:**

_**DemonRider has taken to reading a vampire fiction novel upon realizing writer's block.**_

**Maka: *Takes book from DemonRider and reads the summary.* *Grimaces* you actually read this?**

**DR: Of course. I love vampires. Now give me my book back!**

**Maka: I don't see what's up with you and creepy bloodsucking creatures. *Tosses book back at DemonRider.* First all that theorizing on the purpose of mosquitoes, then "deadly lice epidemic" story that never got started, and now vampires? What're you gonna do, try and write a story on one of us being a vampire?**

**DR: Actually, if I can come up with a clever disclaimer, that would be a pretty good idea. *Leans back, taps chin***

**Maka: *Groans.* Oh, God.**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 1:**

It was an ordinary, sunny, blistering hot Tuesday in Death City. Maka, her hair neatly in little ash-blonde pigtails and her outfit neat and orderly, walked purposefully down the street, a smile on her face and her arms holding three nicely-sized books to her chest. Her smile melted into a frown as she looked over her shoulder at her partner, who, for unknown reasons, was looking even more disheveled than usual today.

His snowy hair was bent askew under his slightly misplaced headband – which was strange, considering he usually took so much time and effort to place it perfectly. His black Hollister jacket was slung lazily over his right shoulder; his jeans were belted too loosely and hung low on his hips (which Maka might have found sexy had it not been so scarily unusual). And to top it all off, it appeared he hadn't tied his left shoe. He trailed sluggishly behind her, his eyes drooping dangerously, drooling ever so slightly.

"Soul-kun," she said, jolting him out of his half-asleep state (and into more of a quarter-asleep state).

"Wha…?" he answered dumbly. Maka scowled.

"What's with you? You look terrible."

"Humph. I'm fine."

"Like hell! Look at the state of you! Did you sleep at all?"

Soul didn't answer her. Frustrated, Maka sighed and went back to staring ahead of her. As they began approaching the wide staircase to the DWMA, Maka heard Soul's sleepy drawl behind her.

"No, actually," he said, "I didn't sleep. I was up all night keeping an eye out."

"For…?" _What on Earth would Soul need to watch out for all night?_

Soul let out a low, contemplative hum. Maka, actually a little bit frightened now, stopped and turned to look at her partner. He was actually looking at her now, a spark of knowing and mischief behind the tired screen in his crimson eyes.

"Soul," Maka asked cautiously, "what were you keeping an eye out for?"

"Just something I heard was roaming the streets at night, hunting for a few unprotected young girls…" Soul had a small smirk on his face, and Maka would have thought he was joking were it not for his deadly serious tone. Maka's eyes grew wide and her throat constricted.

"R-rapists?!" she guessed. Soul shook his head.

"Vampires."

There was no sound for a few seconds.

"_MAKAAAAAA CHOP!"_

Soul held his head, crying out in pain.

"What the fuck, Maka?!"

"Soul, you scared me!" she whined. "Now's not the time for your stupid jokes!"

"I wasn't joking! I was right about Sid, wasn't I?!"

"There's no such thing as vampires, and even if there were, we wouldn't find any around here! It's way too sunny for them to walk around."

"Which is why I keep guard at night; duh!" he tapped her on the head. "Lights are on upstairs, but apparently nobody's home!"

Maka glowered at him. "Whatever. I still don't buy your stupid vampire story."

* * *

"Soul, damn it, wake up!" Maka stage-whispered to the white-haired boy next to her. Her only response was a groan. She proceeded shaking him, the professor completely oblivious to Maka attempting to rouse her sleeping partner.

"Wh-wh-whaaaat?" Soul complained, finally opening one eye, which he used to glare at her with. Maka glared back.

"He's talking about your silly vampires," she said. He sat up at that, stretching and rubbing one eye.

"Stein?"

"Yup; he says they are very real, he's seen a few, and we get an entire lesson on them today."

Soul looked up at Stein, blinking rapidly and trying to focus on the blurry professor.

"…so obviously, vampires can't walk in the daylight and thus are less of a danger then. Still a good idea to keep your eye out, as they can be very crafty."

A student raised her hand. "I've heard a lot about vampires, but I'm confused; when they bite you, do you die or turn into one of them?"

"Excellent question," Stein answered, "and the answer is…it depends."

He listened amusedly to the stunned, confused silence for a couple of seconds, then went on with his response.

"You see, vampires have a certain kind of venom in their fangs which is usually injected in the bloodstream when they bite. If you happen to be bitten on the neck—as this punctures the carotid artery," he drew a diagram as he spoke, "then the venom will circulate through your bloodstream. Now, whether you are turned or if you are poisoned to death depends largely on your DNA. If you happen to have the natural antivenin in your DNA, you'll be turned into a vampire. If you don't…you die of exposure to poison."

Several more hands raised around the room.

"Isn't there another way to counteract the venom?" a random student asked. The answer was a simple, "No."

"So…you said 'if you happen to be bitten on the neck,'" noted Liz, "so what if you're not? What if you're bitten somewhere else, like your leg?"

"If you are bitten in the leg, then you still have the venom in your bloodstream, but it will circulate fractionally slower. Now, there is only one way to be bitten without dying or becoming a vampire."

Everyone listened closely.

"Mating."

There was an outburst of sound in the classroom.

"So you have to have sex with them?!" yelled one boy.

"Calm down, everyone, calm down," Stein called. When the room was quiet, Stein began again.

"No, Steven, mating in terms of vampires does not mean engaging in sexual intercourse. In fact, sexual interactions between vampires and humans are strictly forbidden, for fear of crossbreeding and other possibly frightening twists of fate. To mate with a vampire means to have them bite into the radial artery—that is, your wrist—and drink from there. For reasons unknown, this causes the human to become immune to the venom and a permanent, unbreakable bond to be formed between them and the vampire. This allows the human to be a constant 'feeder,' supplying the vampire with blood when they need it. Without their daily fix, vampires are known to get vi—"

Suddenly, there came several screams from the classroom across from them. If they were saying anything, it was incoherent. Then, they all heard one single student in the hallway:

"_VAMPI—" _his warning was cut off and ended with sounds of choking, strangling, and gargling. Stein shot up to a standing position, creeping over to the door and peeking outside. He looked back at the class, half of which had already turned into weapons.

"No," said Stein to these particular students, "vampires are extremely difficult to kill. It requires extreme accuracy, strength, and speed. The best thing to do is attempt to get out of the school and flee to safety. More importantly, to sunlight."

The students needed no more prompting. Soul, suddenly wide awake, took Maka's hand and led her out the other door to the classroom, watching intently for any sign of vampires. Seeing none, he led Maka down the hall, the two of them jogging towards the stairs that would take them down to the front door, and into the sunlight. They were almost to the stairwell when he heard Maka scream. He threw her behind him, grabbing the rapidly advancing female vampire by her cloaked shoulders—so _that's _how they got into the school in broad daylight; hooded cloaks—and holding her back as much as he could. She was strong. Really strong. Vampire strong. Suddenly, he was slammed against the wall, her slender fingers holding his hair in a death grip.

"M-Maka!" Soul called to his scared-senseless partner, "Get outside! Go! Hurry; I-I'll catch up!"

Nodding frantically, Maka turned and raced away from the scene as fast as her skinny legs would carry her. Soul turned back to the problem at hand, that being the vampire, only inches from his face, yanking his head painfully to the side. He yelped, still trying to wrestle out of her grip.

"Foolish boy," she hissed, "you truly are a fool if you think you'll ever see your partner again."

And with that, she dipped her head down, Soul still desperately fighting—he would _never _go down without a fight, he told himself—and sank her fangs into his neck.

Soul screamed, indescribable pain racing through his body for a few seconds, and then all feeling left his body and his world faded into black.

* * *

**A/N: *Le gasp!* Vampires have invaded the school! And SOUL HAS BEEN BITTEN. Does he have that natural antivenin that Stein was talking about, the one that can save his life but will turn him into a blood-drinking creature of the night? Find out in the next chapter! Please review!**


	2. Where Is Soul!

**Disclaimer:**

**Maka: Oh my God…you actually did it, didn't you?**

**DR: Doing it, yeah.**

**Maka: *Facepalm* Next it'll be werewolves or something.**

**DR: Don't give me any ideas.**

**Maka: Have you ever thought about **_**why**_**you do all this fanfiction writing? Surely you've got a good reason for it.**

**DR: Of course I do. Escapism. I hate the fact that I don't own Soul Eater, so I pretend I do.**

**Maka: *Sigh* As if it helps?**

**DR: Exactly~**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 2:**

Maka was getting panicked. She stood outside in the sunlight in a throng of frightened students, waiting for Soul to race outside and take her in his arms. Every time another person came rushing out of the building, she got her hopes up that it was Soul, but was disappointed every time to find that it wasn't.

_It's been half an hour_, she thought, discreetly checking the watch of the girl next to her. _What the hell is taking him so long?!_

Sounds of battle came through the huge doors, and everyone knew the adults were fighting off the vampires. Maka couldn't help but wonder if Soul…

"Maka-chan!"

Maka turned at her name to see Tsuabaki running up, Black*Star slightly ahead of her.

"Where's Soul?" asked Black*Star.

"I-I dunno," Maka stammered, choking back tears. "He t-told me to get outside, a-and that he'd c-c-catch up."

Maka stopped talking; if she tried to speak any further, she'd burst into frightened tears. Kid ran up to them, frantically asking where Liz and Patty were. No-one knew.

"Soul's missing, too," said Maka.

"Jesus, am I the only one that got out with my partner?" Black*Star asked incredulously.

About ten minutes later, Maka was holding herself tightly, tears rolling silently down her face as she looked up at the school. The others were behind her, theorizing about where Liz, Patty, and Soul could be. Maka was bracing herself for the worst when one tall blonde girl ran out of the school, a pistol in her hand. She jogged up to the others, Patty transforming and giving everyone a big hug. The two girls practically crushed their meister, who was too busy hugging them back to care.

"How did you guys get out?!" Black*Star asked excitedly.

"We hid in various supply closets and lockers and kept one person in weapon form at all times…kinda had to fight our way out of sticky situations every now and then, or it wouldn't have taken very long. Seems vampires can smell human blood."

"I kinda figured."

"Did you guys see Soul?" Maka asked hopefully. Liz and Patty looked at each other cautiously, then back at Maka.

"Yeah…" Liz said, "yeah, Maka, we did."

"Really?! Where is he?! Is he okay?! He's coming, right?!"

Maka's face looked so hopeful, tears drying on her reddened face, huge green eyes shining with tears and excitement…it just broke Liz's heart to have to tell her.

"Maka…Soul's dead."

Even though the crowd was still buzzing, it seemed like the whole place went silent. Maka's expression registered confusion first, then her eyes went wide, her face paling. She stepped back a couple times, shaking her head, eyes brimming with new tears. Black*Star looked pretty shocked himself, but managed to keep most of his composure. Tsubaki covered her face and started to cry. Black*Star wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back and remaining silent…but the single tear that escaped his eye betrayed the despair he was really feeling. Kid only bowed his head and closed his eyes, as if praying for the scythe.

"No…" Maka murmured fainly, scrubbing tears away. "No, Soul can't be dead!"

"We saw him, Maka," Liz forced out, trying not to cry herself. "We found him lying in the hallway…he…" she choked on tears trying to finish, "he was covered in blood. We checked; there was no pulse."

"No!" Maka yelled, "You're wrong! Soul said he'd catch up! He told me to get out and he'd catch up!"

"Probably because he didn't know if he'd make it out alive!" Liz yelled back, her own eyes leaking, "It was a last-ditch effort to make sure you stayed safe!"

"He promised! Soul promised he'd always be here to protect me!" Maka wailed, insisting her partner was alive and well, but knowing deep down inside that he probably wasn't. Liz gave up and went back with her partner and her sister. Maka was pretty much convinced that Soul was okay and kept stubbornly watching the door.

It seemed like an eternity—though it was really only about ten more minutes—before Stein, Spirit, Sid, and several other teachers came out, blood splattered all over them and solemn expressions on their faces. Stein came to the head of the group.

"Okay, listen up everyone…the vampires are dead, we've made sure of that, but there were casualties."

He held up a list and began reading. Everyone held their breath, each praying that their partner wasn't called. Stein read off about seven names, each answered with a wail or cry of some sort from the audience, but Soul's name wasn't called. Maka was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Stein continued his speech.

"My condolences to all of you who lost someone today," he said sincerely, "Now, those were just absolute, known-for-sure deaths. There were a few students who were bitten, but we have to wait before we can be sure whether or not they're dead." He looked back at his list. Maka wasn't worried. Soul wasn't dead, so why should she worry?

"Abigail Moore," came the first name. Then Shandy Yale, Matt McKinley, Yvonne Jackson, Lisa Marsh…the list ended after three more names of people Maka didn't know. She put a hand over her heart and prepared look for Soul as soon as they were let back inside. While the crowd burst into outrageous noise, no-one noticed a man come up to Sid and tell him something. Sid tapped Stein's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"Oh dear…" Stein groaned. Sighing, he quieted the crowd with the announcement that "Two more have been found bitten."

Everyone shut up, except for the few who called, "Who were they, Stein-sensei?"

Stein looked at Maka grimly.

"Tina Ray and Soul Evans."

* * *

**A/N: :O Still no word on Soul's definite condition?! Liz swears he's dead, but is there, just maybe, a way that he could still be alive? Find out in the next chapter!**


	3. Mating

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: Whoo! I am on a ROLL! :D**

**Maka: You and your vampires.**

**DR: Hey, vampires are sexy, shut up or else.**

**Maka: Oh, what're you gonna do, **_**own me**_**?**

**DR: Depends; in what sense? *Smirks***

**Maka: OH DEAR GOD! *Runs and hides***

**DR: Yeah, that's right; leave me to my vampires. MY vampires! *Hugs computer protectively***

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 3: Mating**

"Two more have been found bitten," said Stein to the crowd of grieving students. He appeared to look directly at Maka as he said, "Tina Ray and Soul Evans."

Maka, in a fit of hopeless despair, wailed and dropped to her knees, burying her face in her hands and trying to choke back the oncoming flood of tears. The others gathered around her, rubbing her back, shushing her soothingly. Maka stood suddenly and wrapped her arms tightly around the nearest boy's waist, that being Black*Star, and started sobbing uncontrollably into his shirt. Slightly shocked at Maka suddenly latching onto him, Black*Star remembered back to about a month ago..

**Flashback!**

_"__Dude, what do you see in her, anyway?" Black*Star asked. Soul, staring off into space, shrugged._

_"__I dunno. But I promised to be there for her. Always." After a short silence, he said, "Black*Star...can I ask a favor of you?"_

_"__Sure, man. What do you need?"_

_"__Look, I...I know it sounds ridiculous, but I've been having nightmares lately...and hearing rumors."_

_"__About...?"_

_Soul looked down at the ground, hands in his pockets. He kicked a stone across the basketball court._

_"__Well...I've been dreaming about Maka's death a lot lately. Dunno why. And now I'm hearing rumors about...no. You'd laugh."_

_"__Would not!"_

_Soul sighed, hesitating. "Vampires."_

_Black*Star looked at his friend incredulously, then burst out laughing._

_"__Vampires! Haha! What, you think one of 'em's just gonna burst into your house like, 'Rahh! I have come to drink your blood!" Black*Star put on a fake Dracula accent and pretended to lunge for Soul's neck. Soul growled and backed away._

_"__Black*Star! It isn't funny! Seriously now..."_

_Black*Star sobered up. Soul sighed._

_"__Just...even if it isn't by vampire, I've been wondering what would happen to Maka if...if I died protecting her. I'm sworn to put her before my own life, you know."_

_Black*Star nodded. "So what do you need from me?"_

_"__I...look, man, you're my best friend. What would you do if anything ever happened to me."_

_The assassin stiffened. "Like...you mean like if you died?"_

_Soul nodded. "Exactly."_

_Black*Star looked at the ground. "I...I dunno. You're my best bud, man." He shrugged. "Might just not talk to anyone for a long time and keep to myself until I got over it."_

_Soul nodded again. "Well...I need you to promise me something. If anything ever does happen to me...if I can't be there for her...I need you to take care of Maka."_

_"__You...want me to take your place?"_

_"__I guess. Just be there for her if I can't."_

_Black*Star nodded, determined to do anything for his best friend. "Okay."_

**Back to Present**

Black*Star currently looked down at the crying girl on his chest. He'd promised Soul he'd take care of Maka if anything ever happened to him. He figured, since Soul was pretty much as good as dead, now would be the time to go through with that. And so, remembering Soul's words-_"__Be there for her if I can't."—_he wrapped his arms around the petite girl and let her cry.

* * *

Maka, tears still flowing, walked into the classroom where they were keeping the dead and bitten. Black*Star was close behind her, followed by the girls and Kid. Maka bit her lip gently, looking around for Soul. It wasn't easy, seeing as all the bodies were in body bags, but it didn't take long to notice a poof of shocking white hair from a partially-unzipped bag. She walked bravely up to it and braced herself to see her dead partner. She was a little afraid, but she had to say goodbye to him. She hadn't had a chance before.

She slowly unzipped the bag...and stepped back, slightly shocked. He hadn't changed a bit. Except for the two small punctures on the left side of his neck and the blood matted in his hair, there was nothing different about him. His skin was still the same honey color it had been before, his hair still a breathtaking snowy white...someone had the good grace to put his jacket and his thin black headband on him properly. Maka sighed and stroked his hair.

"Soul-kun..." she whispered. Not caring that the others were still gathered behind her, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. She sniffled and traced her finger down the left side of his face, letting her finger trail down his neck, his familiar warm skin...

...warm? Puzzled, Maka placed two fingers to the side of his neck.

"Liz..."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say he didn't have a pulse?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Then...why..."

Maka gasped as Soul's crimson eyes snapped open and he sat up, grabbing her wrist and biting her hard. Maka screamed in pain and surprise as Black*Star yanked her back. Soul was sitting up on the table, Maka's blood dripping from his mouth. Black*Star stared, mortified, at his best friend, whose eyes seemed to almost be glowing. Soul licked the blood off his lower lip, seeming fascinated.

"B-Black*Star!" he heard a terrified Maka cry, "I-I'm bleeding!"

_Bleeding _was an understatement in Black*Star's mind; the place where Soul had bitten her was right on her artery, causing blood to pour out, into the palm of her shaking hand, and in between her slender fingers, then dripping onto the hardwood floor. Black*Star glared at Soul, infuriated.

"What the fuck, dude?!"

"What's going on in here?" came Stein's voice as he swept into the room.

"Soul bit Maka!" cried Liz, "He just…I dunno, came back from the dead or something!"

"He bit her hard enough to draw blood," added Kid, looking a little horrified and a little nauseous.

Stein took Maka's bloodied wrist and examined it for a moment.

"How much did he drink?"

"You mean he was trying to drink her blood?!" Black*Star screeched at the same time Maka answered, "I-I-I don't know, he bit me and Black*Star pulled me back…"

"Give him back your wrist."

"_What?!_" Maka's voice raised about 3 octaves.

Soul reached out and gingerly took her bloody hand.

"I promise this part won't hurt," he soothed her. Everyone stood frozen, waiting to see what would happen next. Maka watched with frightened curiosity as Soul lifted her red-stained hand to his mouth…and dragged his tongue across her palm, taking the deep red liquid into his mouth with what sounded like a satisfied moan. Maka's eyes widened and blushed. Then, she saw something that made everything make sense: the glint of his canines, which still ended in lethal points like the rest of his teeth, but now were slightly more than an inch long.

"Soul…" Maka murmured, "you're…a vampire."

He looked at her and answered with only a contented hum and he latched his mouth onto her wrist, gently sucking the blood out of the wound. The way he looked at her was intense, loving, even a little sexual…it made all kinds of chills run through her body, and suddenly they were the only two in the room and his eyes were calling to her, pulling her in, looking straight into her heart and soul and ohholymotherofgod he was so sexy…

He pulled his mouth from her wrist and licked across the wound. Shaking off the lingering shivers from Soul's gaze, she pulled back her hand. She saw with a shock that the wound was gone; only faint scars of the punctures remained. She looked up at her partner, who was using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the excess blood off his mouth, watched as he ran his tongue across his teeth and fangs. Then, he looked directly into her eyes and she got that strange chilling feeling. Since when had Soul looked so…desirable? He smirked at her, his old sly side-smile.

"Yup, Maka. I'm a vampire. Which means you're mated to me now."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, chillax, guys, I let Soul live! xDD (In all honesty, I had no intention of killing him in the first place. xD) So...Soul's a vampire, Maka's his mate...what could go wrong? Well...keep reading to find out. c;**


	4. The Basics

**Disclaimer:**

**Maka: You…turned my partner into a vampire?**

**DR: Yup! ^w^**

**Maka: …**_**why?!**_

**DR: One, because vampires are inherently sexy and so is Soul, therefore Soul as a vampire is DOUBLE sexy, and two, it was either that or he died.**

**Maka: …and you wonder why you don't own us…**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 4: The Basics**

"Yup, Maka," Soul smirked, "I'm a vampire. Which means you're mated to me now."

Maka just stared at him for a minute, blinking uncomprehendingly. Soul chuckled.

"Didn't you hear Stein during his lecture?"

"You think I was paying attention?"

Soul raised an eyebrow. "Never thought I'd hear you say that."

"I didn't believe in vampires until now, remember? I thought he was just spouting facts out of a compilation of storybooks."

Soul nodded slowly. "Well, see that bite on your wrist? By biting your wrist, I made you immune to vampire venom and put a permanent bond between us."

"Which…means what?"

Soul shrugged. "Dunno yet. We've been mated for about 30 seconds, give it time."

"I can answer that," said Stein. "Why don't you all sit back and allow me to explain."

Soul threw the body bag off and sat up with his legs dangling over the edge of the desk he'd been laid on. Maka cautiously seated herself next to him, still examining her new scar curiously. Besides Black*Star, who sat cross-legged on the floor, the others all chose to remain standing. Stein grabbed a rolling chair and sat backwards in it.

"See, I was just getting to this when we had our little incident. Being mated to a vampire gives that vampire the ability to hear their human's thoughts, locate them, and feed from them. In some cases, usually with time, they'll have the ability to speak telepathically to the human. The human needs to feed the vampire, preferably from the wrist, daily, or else the vampire will become violent and eventually insane.

"Now, Soul, there are going to be a few changes coming with your transformation."

"I figured…am I immortal now or something?"

"No. You'll probably live for a very long time, probably centuries longer than your friends, but you can still be killed if you are up against a properly skilled fighter. Some things that _will_ change, though: you can't walk in sunlight, firstly."

Soul nodded.

"Secondly, as you may have already noticed, you'll have exponentially heightened senses, better eyesight, sense of smell, hearing, you'll be able to see better in the dark…also, you may develop a better consciousness of your surroundings. You'll have superhuman strength and speed, but you'll still have to work to maintain both. Your survival instincts will be increased tenfold, more so since you're mated. Although you'll most likely outlive Maka, since you're her mate, you'll still have a natural instinct to protect her."

"So…nothing new."

"Well, actually, you're different from most vampires in the sense that they protect their mates because they see them as _property_. You protect her because you actually care about her. Well, I'd hope."

Soul nodded. "Right. So, feed from the wrist, prepare to see a few centuries, look out for sunlight, work out, and keep an eye on myself and Maka, as per usual. Anything else I need to know?"

"Mm…I think I might be forgetting something, but…no, probably not."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Maka sat in her bedroom. They'd gotten Soul home by shielding him with one of the cloaks they'd scavenged off a dead vampire and transporting him via Stein's car, and were working out arrangements to have the teachers get Soul his own. Maka bit her lip, looking down at her wrist. It was still so strange, referring to Soul as her mate now, rather than her partner.

_The way they talk about mating…_she thought, _makes it sound almost like…marriage…or something._

_Actually, it's not even close to marriage; _she heard a voice in her head say. She started when she realized the voice was Soul's. She looked over at him standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, and saw him smirking at her.

_Oh, so this whole telepathic-read-and-speak-into-your-mind thing really does work. Anyway, like I was saying, mating is nothing like marriage. Marriage is weak; it can be broken off easily. This bond is permanent. The only way this bond would break is if one of us dies. So…kind of a literal form of "'til death do us part." _She heard him chuckle and furrowed her brow.

_I thought you said it's nothing like marriage…_

He just chuckled, out loud this time.

_And anyway, that's not what…you know what, never mind._

"I know what you meant," he said out loud, pushing off the door frame and walking up to her. He plopped down on the mattress on his knees and grinned at her, showing a mouthful of shark teeth complete with elongated fangs. "You were worried about the romantic suggestion."

Maka looked away and blushed. Soul, chuckling, wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. She looked over at him and smiled, and he smiled back, that same playful smirk, accompanied by the familiar mischievous sparkle in his dark red eyes. She giggled and turned around, ruffling his hair.

"You scared the hell out of me, you know," she said.

"What, when I talked inside your head?" he laughed. Maka's face turned serious.

"No, when you bit me."

Soul's smile slowly faded. "Oh…yeah…" he looked down. "Sorry, I…I didn't mean to go all nuts like that, but…I dunno, I woke up, I smelled blood…and I knew it was yours."

"Would you have bitten if it wasn't me?"

He shrugged. "Who knows?"

There was a short silence. "Why did you bite me, anyway?" Maka asked. "You knew it would make you stuck with me for the rest of your—ah, my life."

"Maka…" Soul looked at her with that intense, loving gaze again. "I…" he wanted to say _I want to be with you for the rest of your life anyway_, but it would be so damn corny…he sighed. "I did it to save you."

"From what?"

His eyes were downcast. "From becoming a vampire. Maka, I know what it feels like to be bitten, especially against your will. I didn't want you to go through that kind of pain."

She scoffed. "Pretty sure I know what it's like to be bitten against your will," she said, flashing him her scar. He just gave her a look of disapproval.

"No, Maka. You really don't. You know what it's like to be _bitten_, yeah. But not with the amount of venom I had pumped into my system."

"Oh, yeah?" she challenged.

"Yeah!" Soul growled angrily, and he was on top of her in literally the blink of an eye. Maka mentally noted that this was what Stein meant by superhuman speed. But she didn't have time to think about that, as Soul was inches from her face, baring his fangs.

"You have _no idea _what it's like to be bitten like I was! Yeah, sure, it was like when I bit you, but the worst part was the venom! So imagine the pain from when I bit you, right here," he put two fingers gently on the left side of her neck, "and then next thing you know, you're on fire. Every muscle, every vein, every skin cell in your body is burning white-hot. It's pure agony; makes you wanna collapse and scream until your throat bleeds, but you're still being drained forcefully, being held up only by the hand yanking your hair out and the one pushing you against the wall. Then suddenly…suddenly, you can't feel anything. You're entirely numb. The edges of your vision start fading black, and the blackness keeps creeping in. You realize you're going to die, and the last thing that goes through your mind is the promise—" Soul choked on the last words, blinking back tears as he realized he'd gone way beyond where he intended to with that explanation. Maka looked up at him with huge green eyes, half startled by him pinning her down and yelling at her like that, half shocked by his vehement description of what had happened to him. She covered her mouth and felt tears brimming in her eyes.

"Soul-kun…I…"

Dismounting his partner, he sat on the edge of the bed and sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"Doesn't matter. You're safe, that's all that matters."

Cautiously, she sat up and put her hands on his shoulders, sitting on her knees behind him.

"Soul-kun…I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her forehead on his left shoulder. Looking over at her, he sighed and put his left hand on her head, leaning his head onto hers.

"It's not your fault. I promised I'd always protect you, no matter what."

"Twice."

"Huh?"

"This is twice you've almost died protecting me," she said, voice cracking with tears as she tightened her hold on him. Soul sighed.

"It's my duty, Maka. I promised." _I'd do anything for you, _he added. She opened her eyes a bit.

_But what if I don't want you to die for me?_

_I don't wanna leave you alone, either, Maka…but someday it may be the only choice._

"Don't say things like that!" she tightened her hug a little more. "I can't stand the thought of losing you!"

Soul turned around so he was lying back on Maka's pillows, letting her curl up on top of him and cry into his shoulder and chest. He held her close, waiting until she was finished, and he hated that he was the reason she was crying.

"Soul-kun…"

"Maka-chan?"

"Your heart…I can hear it beating. Aren't vampires supposed to be dead?"

"Actually," he said, tapping the end of her nose, "vampires are the _un_dead. I was dead for a short time—"

"Please don't say it like that."

"—but I came back. My heart beats, I'm breathing, my liver and kidneys function properly…you know, the works."

Maka giggled. "Soul…when were you bitten? Were you on your way out?"

Soul sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Actually, it was right after I told you to run. I knew I wouldn't get out alive…so I made sure you were out of harm's way."

_I just wish I didn't have to die like that…I want to die in a way that gives me time to tell you the things I've always wanted to…_he thought, though not sending it to her mind. Maka gripped the fabric of Soul's shirt in her hand, nestling into the warmth of him and falling soundly asleep. Soul sighed and kissed the top of her head. Soul lay there for a couple hours, realizing that in becoming a vampire, he apparently had a nocturnal sleep schedule, as well. Well, that would have to change. He closed his eyes, holding Maka tightly and trying to fall asleep. If he was going to resume with a semi-ordinary life with Maka, he'd have to get used to a human sleep schedule.

Come to think of it, it was still strange to think that he wasn't really human anymore. He was a vampire, a supernatural creature of the night. He'd heard Maka's thoughts earlier, about how calling him her mate and not her partner was strange still, and he had to agree. He was sure they'd both get used to it, but for now it was still new, still raw and strange. He pictured Maka's pretty face in his mind before he went to sleep, trying to drown out the annoying nonsensical dream she was having—apparently he could _read _her mind, but couldn't _control _what he saw. He groaned and held her a little closer anyway, kissing her forehead.

_I love you, _he told her before he finally managed to fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N: So, alternating SoMa fluff AND drama! Hope you guys like it! And don't forget to stay tuned! c;**


	5. Vampire Venom

**Disclaimer: Aaand still don't own Soul Eater, even if he is DOUBLE SEXY now. 3:**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 5: Questions With No Answers**

Maka awoke the next morning to her alarm, as per usual. She groaned. Without opening her eyes, she rolled over, groggily reaching to shut said alarm off. She kept hitting the top of it, but it wouldn't shut off for some reason...wait...since when had her alarm clock been...fluffy? Peeking one eye open, she saw the slightly irritated face of her partner, whose head she had just been repeatedly smacking.

"Eek!" she sprang into a sitting position, "I'm sorry! I-I didn't know you were right-"

Soul put his fingertips to her lips to quiet her. "Don't freak out; I'm not mad."

She blinked a few times. "When did you get up?"

"Been up."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously, leaning back away from him a little bit. "Since when are you up before me—screw that, since when are you up before you're late?"

The corner of his mouth curved into a small smile. "Vampire. Nocturnal sleep schedule."

"Oh yeah..."

He stared at her for a few more minutes, looking slightly irritated. Then, he frowned.

_Which also means I'm hungry, _she heard in her head. She blinked twice.

_Can't he get his own bowl of cereal...? _she thought to herself. Apparently having heard her, Soul hung his head and sighed exasperatedly. To Maka's surprise, he climbed on top of her, straddling her hips, and grabbed her right wrist, rolling back her pajama top sleeve and lifting it to his lips.

"Vampire," he reminded her as he bit his partner. She gasped at the initial pain of his fangs piercing her skin, but the pain faded almost immediately, and was replaced with the still-foreign, drug-like feeling of blood leaving her body. She bit her lip as he looked up into her eyes. Her body's response, for which she still didn't have a reason, was the exact same as last time: shivers down her spine, a strange feeling in her stomach, her heart rate increasing dramatically, a sudden strange realization of just how tempting and alluring he was, the feeling of those sexy, exotic, crimson eyes staring into her soul. She let out a shaky sigh and then Soul pulled his mouth away from her wrist, licking her wound shut and wiping blood off his mouth. Maka, feeling a bit dizzy, just stared at him for a minute. Soul looked back up at her and she gulped.

"H-hey Soul..."

"Mm?"

"Why...why do I get this...I dunno...weird feeling when you...bite me?"

Soul wrinkled his brow.

"...weird feeling?"

"Yeah...yeah, it's like...kinda...like I'm on a drug, I think...never been on drugs so I guess I wouldn't know, but...then I just get all dizzy."

Soul sighed. "Guess that means I'll need to start taking less blood at a time."

"Why?"

"Firstly, because if you're getting dizzy like that, that means I'm taking too much blood at one time and I need to start taking smaller doses until you get used to it. Hard to control your impulses as a young vampire, I guess—I think they're called fledglings? Whatever, secondly, that druggy feeling you're getting, well, I don't really know about that, but it's probably not a good thing. Talk to Stein about it; he's the vampire expert."

Maka nodded, glancing at the clock. She wet her lips and shook her head, nodding again.

"Yeah...yeah, I should probably get ready for school."

* * *

Maka walked up the steps to the school, the buzz of Soul's bite gone now, but still nagging at her curiosity. She pondered a few theories in her head before she heard Soul's voice next to her from under the protective cloak he wore in sunlight.

"Jesus fuck, I feel so weird walking around in this thing."

"Well, it keeps you from turning into vampire flambè."

"I feel like I'm stalking little girls."

"What?!"

"...never mind. Random thought."

Maka shook her head; even as a vampire, Soul was still strange. Perhaps even more so now.

There was plenty of pre-class buzz to be heard as Maka neared the front doors of the school. She heard Soul scoff next to her and stopped walking, peeking curiously under his hood. He scowled at the door.

"Watch as they all friggin' stare at us when we walk in."

"They will not."

"Will too. Just watch."

Maka and her cloaked companion held their breaths as they stepped into the school, Soul slipping off his cloak. He looked around and groaned lowly when all conversation stopped. There was no noise. No talking, no footsteps. Not even the flutter of a stray paper. All eyes were turned towards the duo. Or, more importantly, the vampire side of said duo.

_Told you they'd stare, _he told Maka. Attempting to ignore them, Soul slung his cloak over his shoulder and headed off in the direction of the classroom. Maka followed obediently.

* * *

Soul had thought he'd gotten his fair share of humiliation in the hallway. He was wrong. It seemed the whispers never ended. They didn't think he'd hear, but his enhanced senses picked up every word.

"Didn't he die yesterday?"

"They read off his name..."

"No, he was only bitten."

"He's the walking dead?!"

"That cloak is totally cliché."

"They say he bit his partner!"

"That is so _Twilight_!"

"How come he lived?"

"Pfft. Swiss Army Mouth, a vampire?"

He sighed and sunk low into his seat. This was gonna be a long day, especially since he couldn't tune out all that they were saying. He was called various names in nasty whispers and rumors circulated quickly throughout the classroom, some about Soul, and even a few about Maka; how she was evidently mated to him now, how they had supposedly slept or were sleeping together (something told him that wasn't new) and how she was in danger staying with him. He sighed and tried his best to tune them out, attempting to instead focus on the professor. That failing as it always did, he turned to Black*Star. Black*Star never failed. At least, not at distracting him.

"Dude." Soul turned around in his seat and whispered to his friend.

"'Sup?"

"I'm gonna need something else to cover me up when I come to school. That cloak ain't doing me any favors."

"I bet. Any way you can cover the fangs?"

"Nope. These babies are permanent."

"Ouch."

Soul shrugged. "No big deal." He stretched and yawned, being exhausted due to the daytime, and several girls gasped and pointed at his fangs.

"Until that happens," Black*Star noted. Soul frowned.

"Whatever. I'm gonna take a nap."

And with that, he yawned again—again eliciting gasps and giggles from girls across the room—and curled up with his head in his arms on his desk.

* * *

Maka woke Soul at the bell—not without effort—and led him down the steps, catching Stein right before he left class.

"Professor, wait! Can I talk to you for a second?"

Stein stopped and scooted his chair backwards, stopping in front of Maka and Soul.

"What is it, Maka?" he drawled.

"Well..." Maka bit her lip and glanced at Soul.

_Your show, Ace,_ he said, raising his eyebrows. She looked back at Stein.

"...I guess I just don't quite know everything about this whole...well...anything, really. You know, Soul being a vampire, the mating thing, the feeding, all that...?"

_Lovely, Maka. _Soul rolled his eyes. _How very articulate._

She glared at him, then looked back at Stein, shrugging apologetically.

"I guess I just have a few more questions."

"Oh, well, if it's relating to the current vampire situation, I suppose I can help you. I don't have a class this hour, so I can call your second-hour teachers to let them know where you are."

Maka smiled. "Thanks."

When Stein came back, he had them both take seats in front of his desk.

"So, what is it that you need to know?"

Maka swallowed. Before she could begin with her questions, though, Soul interrupted.

"Is it alright if I just sleep through this?" he asked, yawning.

"No," Stein replied matter-of-factly, "you may need to know some of these things. I do apologize for having to interrupt your nocturnal schedule, but I really have no choice. I would have proposed a night school for all the vampires...had more than one survived."

"None of the other bitten kids made it?" Maka asked, sitting on the edge of her seat with wide eyes. Stein shook his head.

"They all died. You have to understand, Maka," Stein took off his glasses and cleaned them on his lab coat, "that DNA antivenin I was talking about? Turns out it's pretty uncommon. Not necessarily rare, but there aren't a lot of humans that have it. Soul just happened to be one of the lucky ones."

Maka unconsciously reached over and took Soul's hand. He looked at their joined hands for a second and squeezed gently to comfort her.

"Guess that explains all the glares I've been getting," Maka murmured. Soul looked at her, appearing slightly shocked. Apparently he had been too caught up avoiding everyone's stares, he hadn't noticed some of them being aimed at Maka.

"There's sure to be quite an air of jealousy around here," Stein agreed, "but hopefully they'll get over it soon. They just need to grieve for a while."

Soul slouched, grimacing. "Guess that makes me the only inhuman freak in this school. That's just fucking great. _So uncool_," he muttered.

Maka gave Soul a sympathetic look and squeezed his hand gently, frowning when he slid his hand out of hers. He didn't send any of his thoughts to her, and she figured from the way he looked away from her that she didn't want to know them anyway. She sighed. Catching a glimpse of the puncture scars on her wrist, she remembered another question she had for Stein.

"Hey...Soul's fed off me twice, but only one of them scarred over. What's with that? And how come they heal so quickly anyway?"

That, Stein was able to answer almost immediately. "The scar you have on your wrist is a mating mark. The first bite is the only one that remains visible after healing because it shows other vampires that you're off-limits for feeding. Ah, well, for mating, anyhow. A human can only mate to a single vampire."

"But they're still allowed to feed off of you...?" Maka was really confused now.

"Ehh..." even Stein seemed a little nervous. "See, that depends on your environment. Let me put it this way: a 'blood whore' is a person, usually a woman, who is mated and takes advantage of the immunity to venom by allowing multiple vampires to feed off of her. In a human society, blood whoring is greatly frowned upon; it's basically a form of prostitution. But in a vampire society, especially a larger one, they're considered useful."

"Is there any such thing as a male blood whore, then? You said 'usually,'" Soul noted.

"I'd think so. The thing is, like I said, especially in a human society, blood whoring is frowned upon for women. For men, it's just wrong. I've read that when around humans, blood whoring can actually get you killed, regardless of your gender."

It was silent for a few minutes, Maka registering this new information. "That's...kind of strange..."

"And I thought this whole vampire thing couldn't get any more confusing. Stupid me," Soul muttered.

"So a human can only mate once?" Maka asked.

"In the case that the vampire doesn't die within the human's lifetime, yes. A mating bond can only be broken if one of the mates dies. Only if the vampire dies before the human can they mate again. Even then, I'm not sure it's possible..."

Soul shook his head. "Goddamn, every time you answer one of our questions, you only confuse me more."

"Well, not much is known about vampires," Stein said somewhat defensively. "Besides, you're still a newborn fledgling, and one of the first to actually live within a human society. Most of these things you'll have to learn with experience, and even so, considering your surroundings, you'll probably learn certain things differently from most vampires."

Soul blinked twice. "O-okay..."

Maka shook her head. Stein reached into the top drawer of his desk and produced a small beaker, little white measurement lines up the side of it. A piece of what appeared to be latex was stretched over the top of it.

"Since not much is known about vampires or their venom, and you're the only vampire I can actually get a hold of," Stein said, grinning, "I'm going to take this opportunity to find out more."

Soul looked at the container, then back up at Stein, blankly. Maka stared at the object and raised an eyebrow.

"You're...milking him?"

Soul's head snapped over to Maka, a shocked and frightened look on his face.

"What?" she asked, clueless.

"_M-milking me?!_"

"Yes," Stein said, "kind of like a snake. I just need to collect a sample of your venom so I can study it." Seeing Soul's still frightened expression, he explained, "Here, simple: just take this cup and bite down on the top of it. I'm sure you'll automatically release venom, as the rubber over the top of it is about the thickness of epidermis."

"Epi-what...?"

"...human skin."

Soul cringed slightly, but took the cup. It actually reminded him scarily of a urine cup, only larger...sighing, he wet his lips and stabbed his fangs into the rubber.

Maka watched, fascinated, as a clear liquid closely resembling water spilled gently out of the tips of Soul's fangs, like a faucet turned on low. He pressed his fangs into the rubber a little harder and held them there until they stopped secreting venom. The liquid filled to the bottom line. Soul pulled his fangs out and grimaced.

"Yeesh, this stuff even tastes bad to me."

Stein took the beaker back, examining it closely.

"That actually doesn't look like a whole lot of venom," Maka commented.

"Actually, that's a good 50 milliliters," Stein told her. "To put it in perspective, most venomous snakes only inject about five to seven."

Maka raised her eyebrows. She knew about snakes. She had figured vampire venom would be fairly similar. Stein stood up and began walking briskly towards the door.

"Follow me, you two...I want you to see this."

* * *

**A/N: Oooh, venom tests! c; What fascinating things shall be found out about mysterious vampires in the next chapter? Perhaps a few mysteries shall be solved? Or maybe it'll just create more confusion...?**

**BTW, I kinda borrowed/stole "Swiss Army Mouth" from another fanfiction that I liked. "Confessions of a Lovesick Turkey" by Bitter November, totally cute and funny SoMa fic, check it out sometime! c;  
**

**Anyway, read, review, check out my Facebook page and the links on my profile, all that good stuff, and, of course, stay tuned!**


	6. The Rumor Mill

**Disclaimer: I find my lack of Soul Eater owning disturbing...(hehehe Star Wars reference ;3)**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 6: The Rumor Mill**

Maka held her arms around herself tightly. Stein's lab was colder than she thought it would be. She looked around nervously at the variously shaped beakers and bubbling test tubes. The shelves were lined with jars of several sizes, each carrying some oddly-shaped something-or-other in them. She decided she didn't want to think about what they could all be. Soul stood expressionlessly beside her, his arms crossed over his chest. Stein, meanwhile, was examining a sample of the venom he'd gotten from Soul under a microscope and tapping notes into his computer. Occasionally he would mutter or nod to himself, adding to Maka's discomfort. She reached over and grabbed Soul's jacket, leaning close into his side.

Stein looked into a strange machine, pulled his head back, muttered something, then looked into it again. He glanced into the microscope next to it.

"Oh..." Maka heard him murmur. He pushed his feet against the bottom of the counter and scooted up to his computer, tapping something frantically on the keyboard. Then, he leaned back in his chair, humming and tapping his foot on his desk. Maka glanced at Soul with a slight whimper. He covertly slipped an arm around her, squeezing her waist comfortingly.

"This is certainly strange," Stein said. Maka bit her lip. _Oh God, he's finally speaking out loud! That can't be good, can it?_

_Chill, _she heard Soul's voice say. _He's studying my venom, not your organs._

She threw a sidelong glare at him.

"Now this is a little disturbing," Stein said.

"Wh-what is it?" asked Maka nervously.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out how in the world this venom doesn't kill immediately, regardless of DNA...it's very similar to that of the black mamba."

"The black mamba?! The most deadly snake in the world?!"

"So some would say. I may be doing something wrong, but from what I've seen so far, there's about 500 milligrams of venom in here...a single bite delivering 500 milligrams...that's more than the black mamba delivers at maximum. If the snake can kill an adult human within minutes, then a vampire should be able to kill instantly."

"Whoa...weird."

"Indeed." He sighed, shaking his head and sweeping his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This can't be right," he groaned. "I'm afraid I'll have to send you two off to class. I'll let you know if I figure anything out...anything logical, that is..."

**Soul's POV**

I woke up on the couch around 8 pm. I remembered crashing here after school; I still wasn't sure what I was gonna do about this whole nocturnal thing. In fact, I wasn't sure how I made it through the past week and a half. I'd always been a pretty calm, laid-back guy, but anyone would be driven crazy by the whispers and rumors already going around. "Oh, he bit his partner," "maybe she's a vampire, now, too," "do you think he sparkles in sunlight?" (That one really pissed me off.)

Not only that, but lately I felt kind of...out of control. Like I said before, I was always really cool-headed, but there was something inside me...maybe some kind of demonic urge, I guess...point was, I just wanted to hurt people. I debated going to school every morning because I kept having these stupid thoughts about just grabbing the kid next to me and tearing him apart. I could tell it wasn't hunger; Maka took care of that just fine.

It was a pure, animalistic need to kill. I hated myself for it, and at the same time, I tried to accept it as part of my nature as a vampire. Somehow it seemed like it was getting harder...I decided I had two options at this point: I could mope and whine over it and possibly piss myself off further, or I could distract myself from it and chill out a little bit. Sighing, I sat back in the couch, hands behind my head. I absently ran my tongue over my fangs, suddenly realizing how long it had been since I sank them into something...I felt a grumbling in my stomach and realized Maka hadn't fed me in almost 24 hours; she'd been late this morning and in too much of a hurry to feed me, and she'd been rushing around like a busy little bee all day to make up for it.

I pushed myself off the couch and made my way to her room. When I eased the door open, the room was mostly dark. The only light was the lamp on the desk Maka was currently hunched over. She had her hair in those little pink things and was dressed in her pajamas, which meant she probably intended to go to sleep after she was finished scrawling.

I knocked lightly; I knew she didn't like being scared out of her chair when she was studying.

"Hi, Soul," she said without even looking up. "Listen, I'm kinda busy, can you give me a few minutes?"

I considered walking in there and just grabbing her wrist from her and biting her anyway (I _was _really hungry,) but I could sense from here that she was already really irritated. I didn't want her staking me or something...I sighed and went back to lounge around on the couch. Maybe with some luck, I'd fall asleep again.

Maka never fed me that night; she passed out in the middle of her study session, and she was late again the next morning. I tried not to pay much mind to my growing hunger. The next day, we were all just standing around in the hallway, minding our own business, when I noticed Liz was gone.

"Hey," I murmured, "Kid, where's Liz?"

He looked at me. "Hmm? Oh. She said she wasn't feeling well today."

"She's sick?" Maka asked, looking suddenly worried.

"I suppose...the circumstances are a bit odd, though...I was actually just about to bring it up."

"What happened?"

I furrowed my brow. Sickness and "odd circumstances" never meant good things. Kid closed his eyes and started explaining.

"Liz went out last night for kind of a walk around town. She didn't get back until late, sometime around eight or so. She seemed a little scared, so I asked her what was wrong. She said some strange man tried to attack her, but she figured she was alright. I thought I saw her touch something on her neck, but she told me not to worry about it and went to bed. This morning, she said she was feeling ill."

Everyone stayed silent for a minute. I hate to call it vampire instincts (sounds too much like Spider Senses) but something—and it might have been my normal intuition—told me that there was something wrong here. Liz's story seemed off somehow; vague, like she was trying to hide something. I didn't say anything; she could have told the truth, I told myself. Maybe there wasn't anything abnormal about this, and I was freaking out over something nonexistent.

Just as I was resuming my "cool" composure, my ears picked up on a couple of somewhat younger girls whispering a ways behind kid.

"She got attacked?"

"She's sick?"

"Something about her neck..."

"Do you think there's a bite there?"

They all looked at me, noticed me staring back, and gasped, quickly turning and walking away, still whispering about me attacking her. I glared at the backs of their heads, hoping they felt my stare. There was another rumor to go around...I felt anger boiling inside me again, which caused another hungry growl of my stomach. I bit back a groan. This was gonna be a long damn day.  
I looked back at the girls walking away. I don't know what drove me to do it, but I jogged up to them.

"Hey!"

One of them stopped talking mid-sentence and they all turned to look at me. I tried not to sound too pissed off as I asked, "So you guys heard that, huh? About Liz?"

Biting their lips, they exchanged glances before a particularly brave one said, "Yeah. What about it?"

"So what did happen to her, anyway?" another one asked, glaring at me. I glared right back and the scowl melted off her face.

"I don't know," I told her. "But I heard you guys trying to pin it on me, so I just thought I'd set the record straight."

"Oh yeah?" the third one spat, "Well then do tell, what'd you do to her?"

The last one joined in with other glare. I looked around. Anger began bubbling inside me again. I smelled blood...and I was _so_ damn hungry...but something about their blood seemed off, I noticed...something wasn't right about the smell. It did smell awfully familiar, but I didn't think I'd ever smelled it...oh, hell, I didn't care.

And that was when I did something I kept telling myself I'd never do.

* * *

**A/N: Le gasp! Soul loses control for the first time, after trying to fight his fledgling instincts for so long? :O Well, I suppose we'll find out in the next chapter, huh? c; Stay Tuned, and get updates on my Facebook page!**


	7. Starvation

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: Okay, I'm sure we've all heard this before...so, for-you-guys's-convencience-why-don't-we-just-skip -the-"Idon'townSoulEater"-for-today-hm-kthxbye! *runs from microphone***

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 7: Starvation**

I kept telling myself I'd never do this, never ask this, ever, but...their blood just smelled all wrong. I looked back and forth between the four girls as I finally recognized the scent...

"How many of you are on your period?"

They all gave me shocked looks for a second. They all turned bright red. One of them gave a little stuck-up "Humph!" and walked away. The other three stepped right up and smacked me across the face. I felt my boiling anger instinctively tell me to kill all three of them on the spot, but I was too shocked to actually go through with it.

And so, all I could do was turn and walk back to the group. They all looked at me curiously, but something about the look on my face must have said I wasn't in the mood to talk about it. They all continued their normal conversations, and I did my best to just sit back and listen...but for some reason my hunger was starting to become more and more difficult to ignore...

* * *

**(Third Person POV)**

"So," Tsubaki said in an attempt to make normal conversation, "are you ready for the test today, Maka?"

Maka grinned and gave Tsubaki a thumbs-up. "Yup!" she said cheerily. "Been studying all night for the past three days."

"Oh, my...are you sure that's healthy?"

"I don't see why not..."

"What's that test over, anyway?" Black*Star interjected.

"Marine anatomy, I believe," Kid replied.

"Wait, aren't marines those guys who...WAIT A MINUTE!" Patty cried out, gasping.

"No, Patty," Kid told her, "I mean marine _animals_. As in animals who live in water."

"Ohhh! You mean like bears and squirrels and..."

"Yeah, it should be pretty easy," Maka said, ignoring Patty. "I hope..."

"Easier than a math test, I suppose," Tsubaki shrugged.

None of them seemed to notice that Soul wasn't saying anything. Too caught up in thoughts of his hunger to even think about the upcoming science test, the young vampire stared at the ground, brainstorming a few solutions.

Solution 1: Maka was right there. He could just feed right now. But that might attract unwanted attention.

Solution 2: Maka was right there. He could mention to her that she hadn't fed him in a while. Then she'd probably tell him either to wait or take him off to some dark, deserted hallway. That would really attract unwanted attention. He got enough whispers already.

Solution 3: He could do this.

Soul turned on his heel and, without saying a word, walked toward the front doors of the school. Maka turned and called after him.

"Hey! Soul!"

"Hm?" he stopped to turn and look at her.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me," he told her disinterestedly, walking away once more. She walked up and grabbed his arm, startling him into growling a little bit. She ignored it.

"Just because you're a vampire now doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want," she chastised.

"Uh-huh, and just because you're my mate now doesn't mean you can stop me." He took his arm from her and stalked out of the building. Maka stood there for a minute, a slightly hurt look on her face.

"Geez," Black*Star said, "what's going on with him?"

"I don't know," Maka said, looking down at the ground. "He's been really irritable lately. One minute he's just fine, cuddly even, and the next it's like he doesn't wanna be touched."

"Sounds almost like a teenage girl," Kid said. When everyone stared at him, he defended himself by saying, "Hey, Liz isn't here to say it..."

They all laughed just as the bell rang for class.

* * *

Maka tried her hardest to focus on her test, but she couldn't quit thinking about Soul.

Now label the parts of an electric eel-_he'd just shrugged her off and walked away, looking so angry for some reason._

What causes the deep-sea shrimp Parapandalus to glow? _How he held her that first night, promising he'd always be there._

Which is not a member of the dolphin family? _How he just suddenly didn't seem to want to be around her._

Write a paragraph explaining the uses and dangers of puffer fish. _"Watch me...just because you're my mate doesn't mean you can stop me._"

She put her head in her hands and tried to stop herself from crying. She had always had a deep connection to Soul, had always had sort of a sixth sense connected to him; she could always tell when something was wrong with him, but now being connected to him on this level, she could definitely tell something was wrong. She didn't need a telepathic connection with him to be able to see that. Sighing, she decided to try something.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on Soul. She focused on him, on his eyes, his hair, his smell, the feel of his soul resonating with hers, trying to get a grip on where he was right now and what he was doing. She wet her lips and concentrated a little harder...she thought she was starting to get something...a feeling of anger, of loss, of frustration...and hunger.

Violent, stomach-twisting, mind-numbing hunger.

The feeling was so intense she actually doubled over and groaned, clutching her stomach. She felt what little connection she had formed break off.

"Maka? Are you alright up there?" Stein asked. Regaining her wits, Maka nodded.

"Y-yeah, Professor...j-just have kind of a stomachache."

She looked back down at her test. Okay...simple multiple-choice for a little while, it looked like...

_Don't worry, Maka._

She choked down a gasp. That was Soul's voice.

_Don't freak out about me, okay? I'm fine._

Along with that message, she heard a much smaller _damn it, Black*Star..._and a growl.

Maka looked to either side of her. Wait a minute...

...where were the boys?!

* * *

Soul reclined in his room, chuckling slightly at Maka straining herself to read his mind. He stopped laughing when he heard Black*Star's voice again, though. The other two boys had taken the liberty of "checking on" Soul—that meaning they joined him in ditching school.

"So, dude, what do you usually do when you ditch? I work out all the time! We should totally go and work out together or somethin'!" And with that, he yanked off his shirt and started doing one-handed push-ups on the floor.

_Don't worry, Maka,_ he said to his partner, who he knew was supposed to be testing right now, _don't freak out about me, okay? I'm fine._

Then, he caught another whiff of Black*Star—and not his sweat. Working out was getting Black*Star's blood flowing faster, and Soul honestly wasn't sure how long he could stand any more tantalizing.

_Damn it, Black*Star..._

"Black*Star, Soul just said he's not feeling well," Kid said. "I don't think he wants to get up and exercise."

_Damn, Shinigami blood smells good..._

"Well, exercise helps me feel better when I'm sick!"

"Exercise is the only thing you ever do, Black*Star..."

"Hey Soul! Check out this new move!"

_Blood...no...no, wait for Maka to get back. Only feed from Maka. Only feed from feed...from..._

Soul sighed. He was starting to feel more and more out of control lately. It was like he couldn't get a grip on his thoughts or actions. He was getting hungry for blood; all he could think about was sinking his teeth into an unsuspecting person and just draining the last fucking drop of blood from their body. Sometimes he really hoped this was just part of being a newborn...

_THUMP!_

"Black*Star, did you seriously just fall over trying to do pushups on your head...?" Soul heard Kid ask.

"Nah, guess the ground just wanted a hug."

"Oh, dear, you're bleeding."

"Huh? Oh. Dresser musta caught me. No big, just a scrape."

Soul's eyes snapped open at the smell of blood. He could tell there wasn't much, but it was blood regardless. He felt a growl rise from deep in his chest.

_Only...feed...from..._

His thoughts came to a complete halt. All that was left was...

"Blood."

"Huh?" both the boys asked at the same time, looking over just in time to see the flash of bright red eyes and glistening fangs.


	8. Murder

**Disclaimer: Nope, no owning sexy vampire Soul. :c**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 8: Too Late**

Finally! Maka finished the last essay question on the test. She was in far too much of a hurry to check her answers like usual; she had to check on Soul.

Sticking her pencil behind her ear, she stood and took the stairs two at a time, handing Stein her finished test. He looked at the packet in his hand, then back at Maka, who bit her lip.

"In a hurry?" he asked. She furrowed her brow.

"Well...y-yeah, kinda...s-see, Soul's not feeling so well, and so...I-I just wanted to...go...make sure he's alright."

"Not feeling well?"

"Y-yeah...he's been..." she looked around and lowered her voice. "He's been really irritable lately, really distant."

Stein frowned slowly. "Maka..." he said in the voice that usually meant someone was in trouble.

Her eyes widened and she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Y-yes?"

"How long has it been since you fed Soul?" he asked quietly.

Maka stopped for a minute and thought back the last few nights. She had been really tired for most of them. All she could remember was textbook pages and study notes...suddenly, as though Stein's question were a trigger, she remembered several particular instances, the last few times she'd talked to her partner.

_"Hey, Soul...I'm a little busy, can it wait?"_

_"Hey, Maka-" "Not right now, Soul, I'm studying."_

_"I'll get to it after I finish this chapter, okay?"_

_"...Soul...? Huh...he's asleep...guess he'll just remind me to feed him in the morning...yaaawwnn..."_

_"Maka...you're awake..." "Yeah...? Wait a minute...oh my God, I'm already a half-hour late! We'll talk later, okay Soul?"_

"Maka." Stein gave her a stern look.

Maka's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in an expression of guilt and shock as she suddenly realized what had been wrong with Soul this whole week.

Panic preventing her from being able to form the words "I have to get home," Maka simply dropped her books and turned to run out the door.

* * *

Tsubaki saw Maka nervously bounce while talking to Stein and quietly wondered what happened. She was never one to stick her nose in other people's business, but she heard Soul's name come up a couple of times and couldn't help but wonder...

Then she saw Maka's face slowly melt into one of panic, saw her shaky hands drop her books and Maka sprint out the door as though she were running for her life.

Tsubaki wasn't stupid. She knew something would have to have gone seriously wrong for Maka to just run out of a classroom without saying anything. That and Soul was gone along with the other two boys...

Uncharacteristically scrawling a random answer on the last essay question, Tsubaki followed Maka's lead, sprinting down the steps, handing Stein her test, and running out the door. She ran as fast as she could out the front door and stopped for a minute, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the glaring sunlight. Finally, she could make out a small, dark shape running down the street, pigtails flying. Tsubaki ran down the steps as fast as she could, tripping a couple of times and at one point near the bottom losing her footing entirely, bouncing down that last few steps to the gravel road. Pushing herself back up and quickly evaluating the damage—a few minor scrapes, not even bleeding—she ran after Maka.

"Maka!" she yelled. She waved her hand in the air, hoping the girl would notice. "Maka! Wait!"

Finally, Maka slowed, looking over her shoulder at Tsubaki. She didn't stop, only slowed so that the shadow weapon could catch up.

"Maka, what's going on?" Tsubaki asked as the two started running together.

"I found out what's wrong with Soul," Maka gasped out.

"What is it?"

"I...I haven't fed him in almost a week," Maka panted. "Blood, I mean. I've been too busy studying."

"I don't think...I understand."

"If vampires are starved of blood too long, they basically go psycho and turn into a rogue vampire, killing almost anything to feed. And since Soul is still a fledgling, and a newborn at that, it's really difficult for him to control himself. Damn it, damn it, _damn it!_ I'm such a moron!"

Tsubaki honestly couldn't think of anything to say. She might be naïve, but she certainly wasn't stupid; she could put two and two together. Soul was starving and undisciplined, and Kid and Black*Star were alone with him.

The girls tried not to worry themselves too much. Vampire or no, Soul was a really cool-headed guy. Surely he would be able to control himself when he sensed that Maka was on her way.

* * *

Maka climbed the stairs to the apartment at warp speed, throwing open the door and carefully walking into the living room, Tsubaki following her. Maka walked through the apartment, watching and listening for anything unusual.

"Soul?" she called. "Soul, I'm home. Where are you?"

_B-bedroom...j-just leave me alone, okay...? I-I'm fine, already...I'm fine, I swear..._

Maka's heart wrenched at the sound of a whine at the end of his statement. He sounded pretty panicked. Walking a little faster, she headed towards his bedroom door.

_N-no! D-don't come in here! I-I-I...I'm fine, really!_

Tsubaki noticed the look of fear on Maka's face as she slowly approached the door. She watched tensely, right behind the blonde girl, hovering over her shoulder, as she put her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it.

Creakily, the door swung open. Tsubaki gasped and covered her mouth, doubling over and suddenly feeling like she was going to vomit. Maka turned a shade of green and covered her mouth as well, tears welling up in her eyes.

There, lying on the floor of Soul's bedroom, was Black*Star's bloody, mangled body. Maka's tear-filled eyes swept the blood-spattered room, finding Kid's also twisted and lifeless body lying on Soul's crimson-stained sheets. Both boys lay in pools of fresh blood, their faces contorted into expressions of terror and agony.

Maka looked past Kid's body and found Soul, curled up in the corner and shaking, blood pouring from his mouth and drenching the front of his body and his hands. The look in his eyes was one of pure fear and disbelief. He looked up at Maka, who now had tears streaming down her face, and a look of despair overcame him.

_I'm sorry...I am so fucking sorry, Maka..._

Blinking repeatedly, Maka turned and ran from the apartment, a sobbing Tsubaki following her.


	9. Monster

**Disclaimer: No Soul Eater ownage here.**

**A/N: Awww yeah! Two chapters knocked out at once and I left people wondering what the hell just happened! Well...needless to say, read on to find out. c;**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 9: Monster**

Maka ran out the door onto the stairwell and bent over the railing, gasping out sobs. She couldn't believe what she'd just seen.

The images flashed in her mind, horrendous, heartbreaking pictures that she couldn't forget, gruesome memories that she could never erase.

_Kid and Black*Star, bodies twisted and lifeless, lying in pools of their own blood..._

_Soul curled up, shaking, in the corner, covered in the blood of his two best friends..._

_They were both dead._

She tried to deny it; she wanted _so damn badly_ to deny it, but she knew she couldn't. Deep in her soul, she could just feel it. Soul, her partner, the one person she trusted with her own life, had killed the other two boys. He'd basically eaten them alive.

And it was all her fault.

If she hadn't been so caught up in her studies...if she hadn't completely forgotten that he needed to be sustained on _her_ blood, they might not have died.

Maka sobbed uncontrollably for a little while, Tsubaki standing behind her and rubbing her back as she, too, cried quietly. Maka spun and threw her arms around Tsubaki's neck, sobbing into her shoulder. Tsubaki patted her back and let her cry for a little while, trying to calm her as she hyperventilated.

"Ts-Tsubaki...wh-wh-what are we g-gonna do...? B-both the boys are dead"—she hiccuped—"a-and it's all my fault!"

Tsubaki gently shushed her friend, then sighed. "It's not your fault, Maka," she said, trying her best to sound consoling. "There's...there's nothing you could've done...please don't blame yourself."

Sniffling, Maka pulled away and wiped at her tears. "So...so what are we going to do?"

"I...I honestly don't know."

Maka took a deep breath. There was a moment of silence before she finally sighed and said, "Well...guess we'd better call the vampire expert..."

"Huh?"

Maka went back inside the apartment, ignoring the sound of what was undoubtedly Soul turning on the shower, and walked over to the phone. She picked it up and dialed a number, then the two girls waited tensely.  
Finally, someone must have picked up.

"Hello?" Maka said into the phone. "Stein? Yes, it's Maka...we need your help at the apartment...yes," she choked, "yes, it's Soul."

Before long, Stein, Marie, Sid, and Spirit were all at Maka and Soul's apartment, examining the carnage in Soul's bedroom. Tsubaki, while indescribably grief-ridden over the loss of her partner, had still hidden Soul away in Maka's closet until Spirit left. Currently, the Deathscythe was standing outside Soul's room holding his daughter—something that might have shocked everyone there were it not for the situation at hand.

Stein finally stood from analyzing Black*Star's body—they had already declared Kid dead—and turned to Maka.

"Do you happen to have a mirror anywhere? Preferably a more full-sized one?"

"O-oh...y-y-yeah, j-just give me a minute."

Maka turned and walked into her bedroom, looking for her full-length mirror.

_You don't have to keep me locked in here like some dirty animal, you know..._

She ignored her partner and moved over to the mirror, grabbing it and attempting to push it across the carpet. It moved a little bit, but it tilted more than anything.

_Maka..._

"Shut up, Soul."

_Maka, just let me help you._

"They're here because you killed the other two—"

_What the—I didn't mean to! Please, Maka..._

She stopped and seriously considered his request for a moment.

_You know I won't hurt you. If I promise I won't hurt anyone else, will you please let me out? I think I can face my fate on my own...you don't have to hide me away like a little kid._

"I don't want them staking you or something."

_Do you really think any of them brought a stake_?

"Actually, yeah, they might've. Can't really trust anyone lately, now can you?"

_Ouch..._

There was silence for a little while, Maka straining to move her mirror without dropping it.

_At least let me move the mirror for you. You know you could never rearrange this room without me._

She glared at the closet.

"Alright, fine, but only because you're getting on my nerves."

_You know you love me._

"Not in the mood, Soul."

_Sorry._

She unlocked the closet and saw Soul sitting there, the blood cleaned off of him by his quick shower. He looked at her with big, sad, red eyes, his way of apologizing, since he almost never did it out loud. She glared back—ignoring the hurt in his eyes—and gestured to the mirror. He nodded and got up, helping her to pick it up and move it out into the living room.

"Ah, Soul," Stein said. "I was hoping I'd get to talk to you."

Soul said nothing. Maka could sense him looking at her, but she looked only at Stein as he walked up to the mirror and breathed on it, clouding up a small section of it, and writing the Death Room number in it.

Everyone was silent, watching the mirror. Finally, after three rings, Lord Death came on the mirror.

"Ah! Stein! Hallo, wassap? How did it go?"

"Not so well, I'm afraid," Stein said solemnly.

"What happened?" Lord Death asked more gently, ceasing his bouncing.

Stein sighed and removed his glasses, cleaning them on his coat as he explained. "Well, it would seem to me that Maka forgot to feed Soul for some time and he kind of...lost himself."

"Were there casualties?"

"Only two, but they both appear...very...very dead," he sighed.

"Anyone specific?"

Stein hesitated, glancing at Soul, who only nodded once and shrugged, as if to say, "hell, either you tell him now or he finds out later."

Stein put on his glasses and looked at Lord Death, closing his eyes and sighing. "Black*Star and Kid."

Death's face fell. "Oh...oh...well...I suppose...we should begin arranging for funerals, huh?"

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Soul looked down at his hands, which, not ten minutes ago, had been covered in those boys' blood.

_What kind of a monster am I?_

* * *

There was no way Soul could go to school. No way he could handle the rumors, the inevitable frightened looks and everyone going silent when he arrived, parting like the red sea to watch him pass. He was a monster, a horrible, hell-spawned demon designed to kill, created to drain human beings of their blood...

...humans. He had been a human once, not that long ago. Only two or three weeks ago he had walked those hallways, hardly noticed except for a few crushing girls. He had chatted with his friends and taken tests and been blissfully ignorant of the existence of supernatural creatures. He had had crushes and dreams and the singular, unstoppable desire to protect his partner.

Maka...

..how would she handle it? How would she handle the rumors of her blood-guzzling, nightmarish weapon-partner-turned-vampire? He knew Maka was sensitive. He had seen the look on her face, heard her thoughts go entirely numb and her heartbeat stop before going completely erratic when she saw the carnage he'd caused. He'd seen the tears flow down her face, heard her sobbing out in the stairwell, unable to believe that the man she trusted with her life had killed his own two best friends.

He was a monster...

* * *

Maka bravely walked through the school hallway, prepared to block out any rumors or whispers she heard. She clutched her books to her chest and held her head high, doing her best to look as though nothing had happened the previous night. She smiled as though the gory images weren't still flashing in her mind.

Everything went well for the first hour or so. Then, during passing period between her first and second classes, while Maka was walking down the hallway silently with Tsubaki and Patty—Liz still wasn't feeling so well—Maka caught a few words from a nearby student, a guy by his voice.

"...hurt them pretty bad."

"Yeah, I heard Shinigama-sama's son got beat up real bad," added another boy.

"It got so bad they had to call a bunch of the teachers out to go see what happened."

"You think it was that vampire guy...?"

"No," Maka interjected, glaring at him. "Whatever happened, it wasn't Soul."

The boy turned to her. "Oh yeah? Well then tell me why Black*Star and Shinigami-sama's son got all beat up and bloodied last night right after they left with him?"

Maka felt anger boil up inside her. "You don't know that! You don't know anything! You think that just because Soul's a vampire now that he feels some constant urge to kill? They're his best friends! Besides, Soul is a good guy. He would never hurt anyone if he didn't have to! He only went home because he wasn't feeling well."

"You mean he was feeling hungry."

"_That's not true!_" she screeched. "He was feeling sick! That's all! You don't know Soul at all! I do! He might be a vampire, but he's still my partner!" She leaned in close to him and glared, lowering her voice. "And if I hear you or your little cronies talking about him like that again, I'll Maka-chop you so hard, you'll forget your own name."

And with that, she turned and walked away.

* * *

**A/N: Aww, Maka still protects her partner! (heart) But...it's clear she's still more than upset with him. Shocked into nearly not speaking to him, in fact. So...which will it be? Not to mention Soul seems pretty upset with himself...all just one huge clusterfuck right now, huh? But they can get this sorted out...right? Stay tuned, everyone!**


	10. Broken Silence

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: Hehehe...this story is coming along **_**perfectly**_**...**

**Maka: As in you intended to slap them in the face with Kid and Black*Star's gory, untimely deaths?**

**DR: Pretty much...**

**Maka: You're awful.**

**DR: I know! But, what can I say? I love pleasing my readers, but, gotta please yourself sometimes too. Betcha the actual owner of you guys would say the same thing!**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 10: Broken Silence**

Soul finally decided to escape the house after about a week of being locked up in there. He just couldn't take the tension anymore; he and Maka had spoken nary a word since Black*Star and Kid's gory, untimely deaths, and it was just killing him. They used to be able to talk to each other about anything, and suddenly it was like, outside of feeding time, he didn't exist.

Although, he thought, he probably deserved this lengthened silent treatment. Probably deserved much more, in fact.

And even though he'd told himself he'd leave her alone to her brooding, he would admit to occasionally peeking into her thoughts-these past couple of weeks he had been practicing his control over their telepathic bond-just to see what she was planning on doing with him. So far, she didn't seem to be planning on kicking him out or staking him, but then...this was Maka. While her brain seemed preoccupied with tests and numbers and assholes who needed a good Maka-Chop whenever he happened to tune in, he couldn't be sure what she was thinking when he didn't.

And so, he decided, having had enough of Maka's torturous silence and his mind telling him he was a horrible monster, he would just have to get out of the house for once. Too much Maka, he figured, that must be it. _She's everywhere in that house. It smells like her, everything in there reminds me of her...and everything in there carries the very essence of her disappointment. Maybe if I get out for a little bit I can console myself somehow._

He couldn't get out while she was awake, though. She might yell at him. So, he waited. And as he waited, he entertained himself by doing the only thing he could think of: he watched her. Now she was in her room, now she was raiding the kitchen, tune in for a minute, nope, she's fretting over funeral arrangements. Now she's back in her room, writing down a few things about said arrangements. Now she's glancing at the clock making sure she hasn't missed Soul's feeding time.

Finally, feeding time _did _come around, and she came out of her room for the first time in five hours. At this point, Soul was already pretty much asleep, more out of boredom than anything. Maka shook him awake, but didn't give him her wrist. He sat up and looked at her expectantly.

"Listen, Soul," she said, "I've been thinking..."

Uh-oh...

"Listen, after the whole...with the boys..."

"Oh, please don't tell me you're kicking me out!" Soul leaped into a sitting position and looked at her with big, pleading eyes. Much as he pretended not to care, getting kicked to the curb was actually one of his greatest fears. After all, he had pretty much nowhere else to go...and well...Maka...

She chuckled and shook her head. "No, silly; I could never do that."

He breathed a sigh of relief...which caught in his throat when she pulled out a pocketknife. He slowly looked back up at her, fear written all over him. Instinctively, he cringed back into the couch and covered his heart. He wasn't sure if pocketknives worked well as stakes, but he really didn't want to find out.

"M-Maka...you trust me...don't you?"

"Of course I do. I was just thinking about going with a new method of feeding."

"Oh...so it's my teeth you don't trust."

Maka rolled her eyes. "Now, Soul, don't be a drama queen." She put the knife to her wrist...

* * *

**(Soul's POV)**

I don't even remember knocking her back. All I knew was suddenly I was lying on the floor on my back, holding onto Maka for dear life, the pocketknife she'd had against her wrist all the way across the room, stuck into the wall up to the hilt. Both of us lay on the floor, panting. Maka pushed herself off me and looked at me in shock.

"What the hell...?"

"I was just about to say that..."

We just looked at each other, breathing hard for a few minutes. Finally, gently, I took her wrist, the one with the mating mark, and lifted it to my mouth. Maka pulled back, holding her hand protectively against her chest. I looked at her in confusion.

"What, Maka? We've been doing this for a long time now, what makes you suddenly lose trust in me?"

Her gaze slid away and she blushed. Several images of Black*Star and Kid lying twisted and bloody flashed through her mind, but all she said was a mumbled "I don't know."

I sighed and took her hand again, sitting up but keeping her in my lap. I pointed to the two scars on her.

"Maka...do you remember the day I gave you this?"

I watched the memory flash through her mind at the same time it did mine: the very moment my supposedly lifeless corpse sprung up and bit down hard onto her wrist. My first feeding.

Maka nodded shakily. I could sense a feeling of uneasiness coming from her. I tried to be as gentle as I could when I asked her, "Do you know what this means?"

Again, shaking, she shook her head. I leaned in a little closer.

"It means you're my mate. It means I'm eternally bonded to you on level deeper than the soul. But most of all, it means I'm automatically inclined to protect you. From anything. That means from danger, from other vampires, from me...from you. I can't hurt you, Maka, not even if I wanted to."

She looked at me, the uneasiness fading a little bit.

_Trust me_, I told her. She gulped.

"I guess...you've never given me a reason not to before...right?"

"Right."

We locked eyes for a little bit, then slowly, but surely, she smiled. She threw her arms around me in a tight hug, and I squeezed her gently. Then I felt a growling in my stomach and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She giggled and gave me her wrist, the one with the mating mark. I softly kissed the scars before I bit her this time, reminding her of my promise.

I bit down onto her wrist, making her gasp and shiver a little bit, and at the first gush of her blood, I realized I might just be reminding myself of my promise, as well.

* * *

**(Third Person POV)**

"Hey, I heard Liz is coming back today," Tsubaki said one day.

"Really? She's okay?" Maka asked.

"Apparently."

"Well, that's good."

Soul pulled Maka back from the group before she could join in with their idle chat. Since the other night, Maka had seemed to slowly trust him more. At the very least, she actually hung around him and spoke to him. It was almost as though they had gone back to...normal.

Well, minus Kid and Black*Star being slaughtered, Soul being a vampire, Liz suddenly being sick under odd circumstances...

...never mind.

"Hey, Maka?" Soul asked.

"Hmm?"

"I have a question...just..kinda something that's been nagging at me for a while."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's just...you know...things like...like what happened the other day, they kinda...well...damn it, how do I phrase this? It usually results in punishment, you know? And so...was...was the silent treatment kind of my punishment or whatever...?"

_Or are you planning to do something else with me?_

"Oh, no," Maka said, raising her eyebrows. "Hey, did you hear Liz is feeling better? She's supposed to be coming back today."

"Yeah...?"

"Well, someone's gonna have to tell her about Kid."

Soul went pale. "Me and my big mouth..."

* * *

Later on, after class, Maka gathered the rest of the group to talk to Stein. When everybody else was gone, Liz looked around.

"Sooo, why are we all gathered here?" she asked. The rest of the group shared an uneasy glance; what would be the best way to break this to her? It was Maka who spoke up first.

"Well…see…Soul's a vampire."

Soul flashed his fangs for effect. Liz nodded.

"I know that. That happened a couple weeks ago, I was there when he turned. What about it?"

Maka took a deep breath. "And, uh…well…"

"Vampires need to feed," Tsubaki piped up quietly. "Otherwise they turn rogue and go on killing sprees."

Liz nodded slowly. "And?"

Another uneasy glance around the room.

"Well, I guess I gotta kind of take responsibility," said Maka, "I didn't feed him. I was so busy studying for the marine anatomy test a week or so ago…" her gaze turned downcast.

"And…" Tsubaki spared Maka the pain of having to explain the gruesome part. "And, well, he was hungry, so he had to find someone else to feed off of."

"Correction: I couldn't help myself," Soul said. "I was starved; I lost control of myself."

"Oh. So someone's dead already is what you're telling me?" Liz asked. They all nodded.

"Two people are dead," Patty added absently, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh yeah? So is that what this is about; we're catching me up on Soul's latest antics? Why don't we catch me up on why Kid has been missing for almost a week? Did he get called off on reaper business again?"

They all shot nervous looks again, this time all of them directed at Soul. Looking around, he sighed and pushed himself off the wall, hands shoved in his pockets and eyes downcast.

"No, Liz," he rumbled, heart heavy and voice grave. "He's not."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, I'd try to find a gentler way to break this to you, but…those two people I bit—killed, actually…Kid was one of them."

* * *

**A/N: Ohhh, this can't end well. Who knows, maybe Soul will get lucky, most likely not...stay tuned to find out. c;**


	11. Dead Man Walking

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: Wait, wait, wait! *Sifting through filing cabinet* Don't start yet!**

**Maka: O.o Huh?**

**DR: *Almost falls in filing cabinet drawer* **_**Kya-!**_** Okay, here they are. *Comes up gasping holding stack of papers.***

**Maka: What are those…?**

**DR: The legal crap I have to read for the disclaimer at the beginning of these chapters. So. *Puts on reading glasses* Well, let's see…"I don't own Soul Eater, everything belongs to its rightful owners, no profit, no copyright infringement intend—blah, blah, blah," screw this. Let's just get to the story~!**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 11: Dead Man Walking**

"Wh-wh…wh-whaaat?!"

Soul nodded grimly, once more looking at the ground. "I-I…I was starved…I felt like I was losing my mind…Kid and Black*Star were in the room and I just…everything went black and when I woke up…they were dead."

Liz's mouth hung open, tears forming in her eyes, and she fell to her knees. She shook violently, her eyes wide.

"H-h-he…h-he can't be…"

Soul nodded. "He is."

"Y-you…you're lying!"

Maka thought she felt a slight twinge of déjà vu, but she pushed it aside, kneeling beside Liz and rubbing her back gently.

"I'm so sorry, Liz…I-I…I tried to get there before anything…it's my fault. I didn't feed him when I—"

"No."

The word was so quiet, Maka almost didn't catch it.

"What was that?" she asked gently.

"No," Liz said, louder. There was still a trace of tears in her voice, but her tone had gotten suddenly colder, harder. "It's _not _your fault, Maka." She looked up and glared at Soul, tears streaming down her face. "It's _his!_ That…that…_thing _killed my partner!"

Soul felt like he'd just been stabbed. _Thing_?

"B-but Liz…" Maka started.

"I knew all along I couldn't trust you! I knew it!" She stood up and began backing away, racking her brain for insults. "You horrible…bloodsucking…mutated…_creature!_ You killed my partner…so much for protecting your friends! You-you beast! You _monster!_"

Each insult added another stab of pain into Soul's heart. Liz was almost at the door now, choking on sobs.

"You're just as bad as a kishin! _You _should be the dead one! _You _should be killed, put down like a dog! _You should've been killed when the vampires attacked the school! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" _she shrieked before turning and racing out of the room, her sobs echoing down the hall. Tsubaki ran after her. Everyone else stood silent, shocked.

Soul's heart hurt. Liz's insults repeated in his head, over and over and over.

So that confirmed it.

He _was_ a monster.

Less than a monster.

A _beast_.

A _creature._

A _thing_.

Three days had passed. The day of the funeral came around. Neither Tsubaki nor Maka had managed to calm Liz, and even Patty had turned quiet and still. Her way of becoming melancholy, Soul supposed. He stood outside the funeral home, in the shade of a large tree, dressed in his tuxedo and waiting for the others to show up. Liz and Patty, of course, were already here, as was Maka. Tsubaki was currently on her way.

Soul was just thinking to himself when Maka ran out of the building, her knee-length, long-sleeved black dress swishing around her legs.

"Soul-kun!" she called. He looked up at her; she hadn't called him that in ages…for some strange reason, the affectionate term made him feel a little warmer inside.

"What's up, Maka?" he asked, in the way he usually did.

She stopped near him, gasping for breath. "Black*Star's gone!"

He straightened up. "What?"

"He's gone! W-we were opening up his casket, and he's just...gone!"

Soul furrowed his brow. Gone...?

"You mean he's not in his casket?"

She nodded furiously, wringing her hands, pretty face set with worry. Soul thought about the situation for a minute. He couldn't help but wonder...what if...?

Soul walked quickly past Maka and carelessly pushed the door open, hastily walking towards the room where the wake was to be held. His heavy footsteps echoed through the dimly lit building off the shined hardwood floor. He stormed into the casket room, only occupied by Kid's frantic-looking partners. They stood back away from the currently open casket, holding each other with frightened looks on their faces. Slowly, he walked over to the coffin.

There was no body. Black*Star should have been lying there, as cleaned up and fixed as the coroner—Stein—could get him. But there was nothing but slightly wrinkled white sheets and the soft pillow. He stared, dumbstruck, for a minute, then turned to the girls.

"So he wasn't here when you guys opened it?"

Liz shook her head. Soul furrowed his brow, wondering what to do.

"Well...hang on, girls."

Soul went over to the phone on a nearby table, nearly knocking over a vase of flowers as he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the DWMA. He asked to talk to Stein.

"Yes?" the familiar voice drawled.

"Stein...'Star's gone...just wasn't there when we opened the coffin. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking; I just kind of had this gut instinct. Okay. Yeah, Kid's still here. Alright."

Soul hung up the phone and turned to the girls.

"Keep the coffins closed. Stein's gonna look for Star while we go through with this. Pretend everything's normal."

"Wait, Soul," Maka said, suddenly behind him, "What happened to Black*Star? You said you had a gut instinct..."

He slowly turned to her. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'dead man walking'?"

* * *

They had to continue the funeral without Tsubaki; they were late starting and she still didn't show. Soul shook his head, standing around the back, hidden from view of the rest of the crowd. There were so many things going through his head; how were they gonna pull this off? Liz and Patty had a hard time keeping their mouths shut. Liz was a horrible actress. Someone was gonna find out. What about Kid? Would he go missing? Or had Soul actually killed him? Where the fuck was Black*Star? Had his body been stolen? Or maybe...?

Soul slumped against the wall and groaned. This was getting him nowhere. He was only getting angry. And confused. And worried. And that made him angrier. Good God, what was wrong with him?

Maka walked around the corner of the building and looked at Soul. She hiked up the sleeve of her dress and offered him her wrist.

_Oh,_ he thought when he smelled the blood racing through her. _That's what's wrong with me._

He gave her a small smile, taking her hand and lifting her wrist to his lips, once more kissing the mating mark there.

"Soul," she said, "I've been needing to talk to you."

He looked up at her curiously, her wincing slightly when he bit her.

"Well, see, I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to you...everything's been so wacky and busy and whatnot..."

Soul closed his eyes and let the sound of her voice wash over him, gently sucking the blood out of her as she spoke. He sighed contentedly; he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so close...so in tune with her. He liked this...it soothed him and calmed his emotions.

"Soul? Are you listening?"

He looked up at her and healed her wrist, a small trickle of blood running out of the corner of his mouth. His fangs were still reddened from puncturing her skin. She shook her head.

"We'll talk about it later. Oh...by the way..." she blushed, leaning forward and—he swore this couldn't actually be happening—licked the blood off of his mouth. "You missed some," she murmured. Then, as if nothing had happened, she stood up straight and smoothed out her dress. "C'mon," she said, "we're gonna be late."

She turned and walked towards where the ceremony was going to be held, leaving the vampire dumbstruck.

* * *

**A/N: Well, well...what could be going on here? And what in the world happened to Black*Star? Be prepared for a less-than-ordinary funeral service next chapter, with a couple of surprises. c; Stay Tuned!**


	12. After Trust

**Disclaimer: *Nervously glances at stack of legal disclaimer crap.* I don't own Soul Eater...'nuff said.**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 12: After Trust**

Dismal, heartbreaking organ music floated softly through the room, washing gently over the attendees like a sea of melancholy. Except for Tsubaki, everyone who knew and was close to Kid and Black*Star was in attendance: Liz and Patty, Maka, Soul, Spirit (though he claimed to only come for Maka's sake), Lord Death, and all of the teachers from the academy. Even Crona showed up. Everyone sat in metal folding chairs as Sid stood and opened with "a few kind words."

"Friends, colleagues...we congregate here today to mourn the loss of two boys. Good friends, hard workers, and possibly our best students at the Academy..."

Soul glanced at his partner, who sat next to him with her head bowed in grief.

_Hey. Something wrong?_

_Soul. We're in the middle of a funeral. _She turned her head slightly to glare at him. _What do you think?_

_There's something else, too, though. Something else that's bothering you. Wanna talk about it?_

_Now's not really the time, Soul._

_C'mon, not like we're interrupting anything. I can grieve and help my partner at the same time._

_No, I mean _now's not the time.

_Oh. That bad?_

_We'll talk about it later, okay? Just...not here, for God's sake. Now pay attention._

Soul disconnected and looked forward as Sid finished up his invocation. He still worried about his partner, but she had made it clear that she didn't want to discuss the issue. Lord Death bounced up to the front of the room, in front of the two closed, shiny wood caskets. His normally cheery mask was downcast, his hollow eyes set in saddened crescents.

"A reaper's work," he said slowly, "is his life. And a reaper's work is dangerous. But Kid-kun was dedicated to becoming a good reaper and taking his father's place when the time came. He was intelligent, loyal, and committed to living a good life and being a good friend. Even when he died, he was trying to help a friend. While we know his death was an accident, it is still tragic and heartbreaking.

"Black*Star was a talented student, and a devoted one. He dedicated all of his spare time to learning the ways of the assassin and training. I personally believe it was beginning to pay off, as well; he had incredible skills as an assassin, and was well on his way to becoming the best one in the Academy.

"Many hearts have been broken by these two tragic deaths. In this time of sadness and grief, we can only hope that they have gone to a better place, and that someday our pain and loss will subside, so that we can continue to live in their memory."

Death stepped down, and Liz stepped up. Her black sheathe gown whispered across the polished floor. Rubbing one of her upper arms, bared by the wide straps, she sniffled, turning to face everyone. She hesitated a bit before speaking, looking at the ground, lips pinched together. Though her cheeks were try, the red rim around her eyes and the streaks of eyeliner on her face betrayed that she had been crying previously.

She took a shaky breath and began, "Black*Star was a good guy. He was weird, and didn't really know how to keep his mouth shut when he needed to, but overall, he was a great friend. He was protective, determined, and he really had a good head on his shoulders when he wanted.

"And Kid-kun..." Liz grabbed the fabric at the front of her dress and took another shaky breath, clearly trying not to cry. Her voice broke when she tried to speak again. Finally, she got the words out. "Kid was a great partner. I'll admit it, I was in it for the money at first. But as time went on I realized he was really a good guy. He saved me and my sister." Another trembling breath. She tightened her grip on her dress. "We've all been through hell together. So many times I cried because I swore I was gonna lose him, and we had nowhere else to go." Liz was now unashamedly crying, tears and mascara now once again streaming down her face. "And the worst part about it is I never got to tell him goodbye!" she sobbed.

Maka found herself crying, too. She couldn't help but wonder...what would she have done if Soul had died so suddenly and horribly like this? They had been through hell together, too. What if he hadn't returned from the dead, never bitten her, marked her as his own? What if he had been permanently gone? What if she hadn't been able to say goodbye to him? What would she do if she was in Liz's place right now?

Maka suddenly remembered back to the day they had told Liz about Kid's death. She remembered that strange pang of deja vu.

_"H-h-he…h-he can't be…"_

_Soul nodded. "He is."_

_"Y-you…you're lying!"_

Her mind trailed back to the day of Soul's death as well, when Maka had broken down over the news.

_"Maka…Soul's dead."_

_"No…no, Soul can't be dead!"_

_"We saw him, Maka!"_

_"No! You're wrong!"_

The voices echoed in her head, the memories crystal clear as though the three boys' deaths were within mere hours of each other instead of a few weeks. A sudden, strange thought occurred to Maka: the two girls' reactions were so similar...could the outcomes...?

No. They couldn't be. Survival of a vampire bite was—

Was Kid's coffin lid opening?

Maka looked around. She didn't appear to be the only one who noticed. Others were raising their eyebrows, turning to whisper to other people, or even gasping and pointing. Liz, cries echoing through the room, didn't appear to notice any of it. Looking to her right, Maka noticed Soul seemed to be making frantic, failing attempts to get Liz's attention.

Liz continued to cry, beginning to speak again, even as Kid—totally unmarred somehow—rose out of his coffin.

"No," she sobbed, "No, the worst part is I never got to tell him how I felt about him. Kid was an amazing guy. The kind of things we went through just don't happen without building trust. And after trust..." she took a deep breath, either ignoring or not seeing Soul making desperate "kill" gestures. "After trust comes attraction," she continued, "and after attraction comes love. I was never brave enough to tell him, and now I wish I could've at least told someone. Nobody knew I loved him except—"

"Liz!" Soul finally cried out. She looked up at him.

The door slammed open and Tsubaki, gasping and sweaty, ran in. Her knee-length, form-fitting dress was ruffled and torn and one of her black, elbow-length gloves was missing a finger. Her hair was falling out of its updo, brunette wisps floating around her terrified face. Everything was silent for a moment. Liz slowly turned to follow everyone's gaze, finally seeing the black-haired vampire standing by his casket. Her partner looked at her with hungry red eyes, grinning to show off gleaming fangs that seemed almost too long to fit in his mouth. Then, it all happened too fast.

Kid growled and started moving towards Liz. Everyone stood out of their seats; some ran, others made to stop Kid. Soul tried to stop those that did. Tsubaki ran up to Maka, saying something about Black*Star. Then, the huge stained-glass window behind Liz shattered, little bits of gold and rose-colored glass flying. Liz dove to the ground, Kid following after her. Soul pushed Maka against the back wall, shielding her with his body. Everyone else either fled the building or ran for cover in the hallway.

Tsubaki stared wide-eyed at the jagged hole in the circular window, looking at the figure standing in front of it, standing from a crouched position. Those ravenous crimson eyes looked right at her. His ivory white fangs rested over his lower lip. She tried to back up, never taking her eyes off him, but she only made it two steps before she stepped wrong in her heels and tripped backwards. By the time she managed to get back up, Black*Star was standing right in front of her. She screamed and scrambled backwards, but it was too late. The assassin knelt next to her—though she swore she hadn't seen him move—and grabbed her by the wrist. She tried to fight him, squirmed and screamed, but it was useless. She was immobilized by his superhuman grip. She closed her eyes tight, gritting her teeth through the pain when she felt his fangs sink into her skin.

Liz opened her eyes. Her vision was swimming; she must have hit her head when she dove to avoid the broken glass. She felt a cold hand on her face. She turned her head, groaning. Her mind slowly processed what she was seeing—black hair with three white stripes. Two ruby eyes. A pair of shining white fangs, sharper than any weapon she'd ever seen. There he was, in all his vampiric glory...

"Kid-kun..." she whispered.

They laid there, oblivious to the chaos and screaming around them. Thousands of little bells tinkered across the floor around them, the last light of the sunset streaming through the fragmented window and casting an orangeish glow throughout the room. Liz tried to speak, but she couldn't find the words to express her conflicting feelings. Kid placed one slender finger on her lips and lifted her left wrist to his mouth, pushing his fangs into her skin. She gasped and winced, then relaxed; after the initial sting faded, a wonderful glowing feeling spread through her body. She felt sleepy, maybe a little dizzy, like she'd been drugged, but stronger than any of those was a more non-physical feeling...

...she felt safe. She felt complete somehow, like there had been a void inside her that she hadn't noticed until now. When Kid released her wrist and sealed the wound, he looked down at her, lifting her head and holding her. She watched the crimson in his eyes melt back into the molten gold. He lifted her up and held her against his chest. He leaned his head down as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, too," he whispered into her ear.

* * *

**A/N: Awww! So there's a little KidXLiz romance for MakaAlbarnxSoulEater4ever, and I have to say, some of you just read my mind on Kid's resurrection (****DeathScythe101****). Do I make my intentions that obvious or do great minds just think alike? c; (Lol this story has so many reviews I have to search through my inbox to find all your names. xD)**

**Anyways, this isn't the end yet! I still have plenty of questions to answer (about Soul's scythe form, involvement of all the old adversaries such as black blood and kishins, and Liz's "condition.") Keep reading; I have full intentions to answer all of your questions in due time!**

**Stay Tuned!**


	13. Devastating Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

**A/N: HA! THEY ARE ALIVE! So, enjoy this next chapter and...wait...what? You actually thought I'd permanently kill off two of the most important characters? C'mon you guys, you know me better than that...well, enjoy this next chapter!**

**Also: YES! 100 REVIEWS! First story to reach this milestone! Thanks so much! I love you guys!**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 13: Devastating Aftermath**

Soul clutched Maka tightly to him. Her eyes were shut tight, her head and arms curled up tightly in the safety of his arms. It seemed to be a while before the screaming and the tinkling of glass stopped. When it did, he slowly, carefully lifted his head to look around. What he saw around him was pure chaos.

Chairs were knocked over. Colored glass was everywhere. People were poking their heads out from around corners, and Crona's bubblegum-colored hair was visible through a large potted rosebush, which Soul might not have noticed had the entire bush not been shivering. Black*Star knelt next to a dazed-looking Tsubaki, and up on the dais with the empty coffins, Kid and Liz held onto each other for dear life. The window, which he estimated had to be at least a few hundred years old, was as good as gone, save for the few stubborn shards clinging to the side.

Soul looked back down at Maka.

"Maka-chan...you can open your eyes now."

She opened one eye and looked up at him. He softly coaxed her to open her eyes and tried to pry her off of him, but she wrapped her arms around him and refused to let go, burying her face in his chest.

"Maka, c'mon..."

"I don't wanna look," she whimpered.

"Why not?" he asked gently.

"I don't wanna find out who else is dead..."

"Maka, no-one's dead. At least, not anymore."

Again, she turned her head to look up at him, her eyes wide and scared. He hooked one finger under her chin, softly rubbing his thumb over her cheek. She gulped. Soul opened his mouth to reassure her again.

"Kiss me," Maka said suddenly. Soul stopped, face flushing bright red.

"Wh-what?"

Looking equally as shocked with herself as Soul was—and about four shades darker—Maka turned her head away. "N-nevermind..."

_That was a really dumb move, Maka how could you just say that and in the middle of a funeral not to mention this mess now was totally not the time you are such a selfish baka..._

Cringing a little, Soul tuned out. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Maka..."

She bit her lip, eyes downcast in shame.

"Big sis!"

Maka and Soul both looked over to see what was going on. Patty was running up to her sister. She fell to her knees next to Liz and Kid, the skirt of her dress draping itself over her as she fell. She chewed her nails and said something that Maka didn't quite catch. Curious, she walked up to go see what was going on, Soul following close behind her.

"Sis, are you okay?" Patty asked worriedly, tears rolling down her face. Liz turned and looked at her little sister, slowly smiling.

"Yeah, Patty, I'm fine." She looked up admiringly at Kid. Patty, as though she had just now noticed her undead partner, looked at him wide-eyed and gasped.

"Kid-kun!" Patty cried, knocking down both Kid and Liz in a reunion hug.

Soul chuckled and looked at Maka, who was smiling and clutching her hands to her chest. He smiled gently at her. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over at Black*Star, who flashed him a fanged grin. His hunger now satiated, Black*Star's eyes had gone back from red to their usual blue-green.

"Hey, man. So we're all vamps now, huh?"

Soul chuckled once, crossing his arms. "Guess so. So why didn't you decide to tell anyone you were back from the dead before just up and walking away?"

"Huh? Hell, I dunno. I think I was going after Tsubaki...don't even know why."

Soul raised an eyebrow. He slowly grinned, then began laughing. Everyone turned and gave him a funny look.

"What's so funny?" Maka asked.

"Just think..." he laughed, "We went through all this hassle...I was so fucking traumatized, and we all had that stupid DNA antidote thing. What are the chances?"

Maka cocked her head, seriously considering what he had said. After all, what _were _the chances? All three of them having the antidote in their DNA?

Kid groaned from behind Maka, making her turn to look at him.

"Ahhh...I feel like I've just had dental surgery," he moaned, gingerly touching his fangs. Liz sympathetically patted his shoulder while Patty laughed.

Soul turned to Black*Star, but, unable to meet his eyes, looked down at the ground.

"Hey," Black*Star said, "what's goin' on?"

Soul raised an eyebrow, stuffing his fists in his pockets. "Well...I kinda killed you both, you know."

Black*Star was quiet for a minute. "Yeah...now I remember. Well, now that you mention it, you're right, you did kind of eat us alive, so..."

No-one even saw Black*Star's fist move; all they saw was Soul flying through the wall into the bathroom. Everything was quiet for a minute, then Soul groaned and stood, now visible through the massive hole in the wall. He was cut up and already bruising everywhere, but only grinned and gave the others a thumbs-up.

"I deserved that."

Black*Star smiled, then looked around for a second. "Hey, where's—Tsubaki!" Black*Star turned and raced towards his dazed partner, still sprawled on the floor. He knelt next to her, frantically worrying over her. "Tsubaki! Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Tsubaki only sighed.

Soul was climbing back through the hole his body had made, throbbing all over. His foot caught and he fell face-first onto the floor. He groaned; an uncoordinated vampire, huh? Sighing, he lifted his head and saw a black high heel in front of him. He craned his neck to look up at Liz, who glared down at him, fists on her hips. She leaned down and bared her teeth at him. Soul's vampiric instincts took this as a threat and he had to stop himself from doing the same.

"Don't think that just because those two boys ended up coming back I'm gonna forgive you," she growled. "You killed my partner and Black*Star. Ate them alive! And Maka might forgive you just because she loves you _so much_, but I'm not that stupid."

Soul shot into a standing position and, while he was somewhat shorter than her, somehow managed to loom over her.

"Maka is _not _stupid." He wanted to yell at her that he hadn't meant to kill them and that he didn't choose to and that her partner was back, so she should just calm the fuck down, but he knew that she was right. He was lucky that they were talking to him at all. Intentional or not, murder wasn't something you just forgave and forgot. He knew he deserved everything that had happened so far...and probably more.

* * *

After some time, Soul took Maka home. Things were awfully quiet and tense. Maka spent a lot of time silently thinking. She was relieved that both the boys were, for the most part, alright, but at the same time, she seemed a little torn over Soul. Should she be mad at him for killing the boys still? Did he deserve to be forgiven because they turned up okay? She supposed them coming back didn't excuse the fact that he had still killed them.

She knew he didn't deserve forgiveness...and yet, she couldn't bring herself to stay mad at him somehow. Yes, she was still afraid of him because of what she'd witnessed. She would never forget all the blood and the grisly bodies of her friends. But still, she trusted him. She couldn't even say why. Maybe it was that she had trusted him so long that she didn't know how to stop. Maybe she just didn't have anyone else she could trust...

Maybe, despite all the pain he'd caused, despite the murder, despite these conflicted feelings of hers, despite the fact that she really should never trust him again, just maybe, she loved him.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I tried to come back with all the devastation and the anger and whatnot and tried to keep everyone in character...well, stay tuned! Love you guys!**


	14. Just One More Kiss

**Disclaimer:**

**DR: *leaning over stack of legal crap with a highlighter* Okay, this looks important...there we go! Last page done! *Looks over pages and groans* Did I just seriously highlight everything trying to shorten it to the important parts? *Sigh* Guess they'll just have to do with an "I don't own Soul Eater."**

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I went and cleverly lost my flash drive for about three days. But, to make it up, here's a little SoMa citrus for you. ;) Enjoy!**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 14: Just One More Kiss...**

Stein was in his lab later than he probably should have been. Hours later, in fact. It was almost midnight; he should have gone home almost eight hours ago. But he had to confirm this, repeat the test results. There was no way this could be real. And if it was...well then, by God, he would make a discovery beyond anything the human race had accomplished.

He adjusted the focus on his microscope. He examined the cell, then looked back at the image on his computer. He checked and double-checked a few more times, then grinned.

"So that's what you are."

He jotted down a few notes in his notebook. At last. He had decoded part of the vampire's venom. It was only a small part...

...but that only meant he was one small part closer to solving one of the biggest mysteries of humankind—vampires.

* * *

Maka rolled over onto her back, arms crossed over her stomach. Damn it, she had had her eyes closed for nearly twenty minutes in her most comfortable position and still couldn't sleep. She had to face it: she just wasn't tired. She sighed.

She sat up, tossing off the covers. Sitting at the edge of her bed, she tugged the light pull on her lamp. A soft glow was cast across her room. She stretched her arms above her head; forcing herself into one position for a while had stiffened up her muscles. Yawning, she turned back around and sat up, leaning back against the headboard, hugging her knees to her chest.

All she could think about was Soul.

His hair, his eyes, his clothes, his voice, the smell of him...he was just amazing all around. She had had a crush on him since...well, forever, but for some reason this seemed stronger than a crush. She had a hard time looking into his eyes. The smell of his cologne mixed in with his natural scent covered her mind with a haze. She longed for his touch, his embrace, even the sting of his fangs piercing her skin. She wanted his kiss. She trusted him with everything...

_Oh, never mind the fact that he killed the other two boys in cold blood..._said the logical part of her brain. _Here, why don't we repeat some of those horrifying images?_

Maka sighed and buried her chin in her knees. She glanced at the clock. 11:11. She closed her eyes.

_I wish I could just...I don't know. Love him without guilt, I guess._

She sighed again. What exactly _was _this feeling weighing down her heart? There was a tightening in her chest every time she thought about her partner, or, more specifically, her feelings toward him.

Was it confusion? Was it fear of rejection? Was it insecurity? Or was it pure and simple fear of him?

"You're not afraid of me."

Maka gasped and pressed herself against the headboard, hand to her heart, making sure it resumed beating. There, at the edge of her bed, was Soul, in all his fanged glory. He stared at her intensely.

"If you were, you wouldn't want me in here alone with you." He lithely crawled up to her until he was nearly on top of her, staring deeply into her eyes. Maka's breath went shaky. Looking up into those maroon eyes, turned to the color of wine by the dim light, she could feel in her trembling soul that he was right. She wasn't afraid of him. She should have been...but she wasn't. So...so what was this feeling? This heavy, sinking feeling?

"I know what it is," he whispered into her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine.

"Wh-wh-what is it?"

"You're ashamed of what you feel," he breathed. "You know you shouldn't trust me. You know it's wrong, but you can't stop yourself." As he spoke, his lips ghosted over her neck. Stopping at her collarbone, he looked up at her and murmured, "Why do you still trust me, Maka? Ask yourself that."

Biting her lip and fighting to control her breath, she responded, "I-I dunno...I-I just...well...I-I guess I just...do."

"Mmm," he mused, crawling back up and trailing his lips back up to her ear. "I'm sure you do. You just need to figure it out."

"S-S-Soul..."

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing in here, anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep," he said casually, pulling away from her and looking back down at her, still hovering. "I sensed that you were still awake, too, so I thought I'd drop in here for a little midnight snack...if that's alright with you," he murmured. Maka blushed bright red, unsure if she was supposed to pick up the innuendo in his words. But, she supposed, with him slinking around on top of her and looking at her like that, it just couldn't be helped. She gulped.

"Y-y-yeah, I...I guess..."

"Okay, so I lied."

"H-huh?"

Soul sighed. "Actually, I came in here to ask about your little..._request _earlier."

The memory flashed through her mind: "_Kiss me_." She flushed.

"S-S-Soul, I...I-I didn't...it was just..."

"Don't try to cover your ass, Maka. I heard you loud and clear, and I can tell when you're lying. I don't need a psychic connection to know that."

Maka was speechless. Soul only smirked down at her. He leaned in close, whispering, "Can I kiss you, Maka?"

She gasped and stuttered, stumbling over her words. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to that.

"B-but..."

"But what?"

"Well I...I g-guess yeah but..."

He put a finger to her lips. "Shh...don't worry, Maka. Just one kiss. No-one ever has to know."

Maka looked into his eyes. And then, she knew why she trusted him still. Those weren't the eyes of a killer. Those were just the eyes of a confused boy who had been unready to die and was just trying to get on with his normal, teenage life even after having been turned into something very, very abnormal. Never mind the fangs; those were the eyes of her partner.

And so, she nodded. With a slight gulp, he leaned in, ever so slowly, just as nervous about his first kiss as any teenage boy would be. He leaned closer to her until each could feel the other's breath on their face. Still gazing into each other's eyes, they gently touched their lips together. The jolt of electricity that ran through their bodies was wonderful; it made them shiver, but in a good way, a way that made them want more.

Maka sighed and closed her eyes as Soul pressed his lips onto hers harder, deepening the kiss. Then, just as quickly, he pulled away. Maka looked up at him, whimpering in disapproval. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in again.

"One more," she whispered. Soul sighed, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her again, holding her close to him and kissing her harder. She ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. She moaned, inadvertently opening her mouth, allowing Soul to take the chance and thrust his tongue into her mouth. She gasped, tangling her fingers into his hair and fighting his tongue with her own. She liked the way this felt...

...losing all her inhibitions.

...completely forgetting all the bad things happening in her life.

...and just enjoying the closeness of her partner.

He moaned, leaning forward and pressing their mouths together again, their tongues still battling within. He broke apart from her for only a second, turning his head to kiss her at a different angle, while pushing her back into the headboard and putting his hands on either side of her head. Maka moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his waist, experimentally dragging her nails down his back. He tightened up and groaned, breaking away from her. A line of saliva connected their tongues for a moment, the two of them panting for air.

"M-Maka..." he sighed, wrapping his arms back around her waist, holding her close and pressing his lips to the side of her neck. Arms around his neck and blushing, Maka moaned softly.

"S-S-Soul..." she whined. Soul groaned; _damn_ did he love it when she said his name like that!

A few questions burned in the back of his mind: Was it normal for a vampire to feel like this? Was it normal for him to want a human like this? Was it just because he was young? Wasn't this supposed to be forbidden?

But at the moment, none of them seemed relevant.

"Soul," Maka murmured into his ear, "still want a midnight snack?"

Soul's eyes grew wide. That question could mean one of two things. Either one of them sounded fucking amazing right now.

"_Yes_," he growled, then smirked. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Pulling back from him slightly, Maka flipped her hair over one shoulder and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck. She trailed her fingers down the side of her throat seductively. Soul's eyes again grew large.

"M-Maka! Y-you want me to..."

"Yes, Soul," she breathed. "Go ahead."

"B-but..."

"This mating mark makes me immune to the venom, right? So there's only really one way to find out what it does..."

"Maka, you know that's about the stupidest idea ever..." Soul tried to remain calm, but both his voice and his body shook with his internal struggle. But when Maka gave him a look he could only describe as tempting and said, "Do it, Soul," that struggle was gone. He pinned her down underneath him, tugged her head to the side, and sank his fangs into her neck.

All of his vampiric instincts kicked in. He could feel venom flooding into her veins. He held her down by her shoulders. He heard her cry out, but his mate instincts told him it was a cry of...pleasure, not pain. He felt her blood rush into his mouth, and he gladly drank from her. It took all of his willpower to resist the natural instinct to drain her, but he did it, releasing her and licking at the wound to heal it over before she bled out.

Maka gasped and arched her back when Soul bit her. This was...so much different from him feeding from her wrist. That druggy feeling was so much more powerful, and for some reason his bite sent blood rushing down to her nether regions. She tried to wrap her arms around him, but he held her down by the shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him close, grinding against him. She whimpered; it would seem she wasn't the only one that was turned on.

When Soul finally released her and sealed the wound on her neck, he immediately dived down to kiss her mouth again. When their tongues met, Maka again tasted her own blood on him, and it drove her crazy.

The two were quickly losing control of themselves. They had their hands and mouths all over each other. The room was heating up and before they realized it, Maka was left in only her underwear and Soul in his jeans, their clothes scattered elsewhere around the room. She was pinned down under him while he trailed his lips from her jawline down her neck, then to her collarbone...Maka writhed beneath her partner, biting her lip.

The two heard the phone ringing outside. Soul lifted his head and made to leave.

"No!" Maka whined, trying to pull his head back down to her chest, "Ignore it; it's probably just some prank caller."

"It's not," he assured her, getting up and walking out anyway, leaving her half naked, horny, and pouting.

Soul picked up the phone. "Yeah?"

"There you are, Soul," said Stein's voice. "I need you and Maka to come to the lab immediately."

Soul sighed. Just like the good old doctor to call at nearly midnight and not even ask if he had woken them...which, Soul thought, he hadn't so...he looked back at Maka's bedroom door, where she stood there in her panties, clinging alluringly to the doorjamb. Soul sighed.

"Yeah, we'll be right there," he groaned, hanging up the phone. He looked back at Maka, who was looking at him with those pleading eyes, rubbing her legs together in the sexiest way...in literally the blink of an eye, he had her against the wall, arms pinned above her head, fingers rubbing around her panties. Maka gasped and moaned loudly, Soul muffling the sound with his own mouth.

"Listen, Maka," he murmured huskily. "Just go back in your room, put your clothes on, and come with me, okay? We'll talk about this when we get home."

Whimpering, Maka nodded and obeyed. Soul, meanwhile, just threw his jacket and shoes on. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He should _not _have let that happen. He knew he shouldn't've. He was gonna have to talk to Stein about what to do.

**A/N: Bwahahaha! No lemon for you! ...okay, honestly, I know. I'm horrible, and I'm sorry. But I promise you there will be a lemon here soon. c: Until then, stay tuned!**


	15. Never

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater (Or apparently any more witty ideas for disclaimers…:c)**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 15: Never**

As Soul pulled into the driveway of Stein's lab, Maka clung tightly to his back. She still remembered the feeling of his lips and tongue on hers. She still felt his searing mouth on her skin, his fangs piercing her neck. She remembered with ultimate clarity the rush of sexual desire that had flooded through her body with his venom. She remembered the shivers he sent down her spine, simultaneously stripping her and grinding his arousal into her. She could feel in those passionate moments just how much she wanted him, and in return how much he wanted her.

But now, she felt nothing from him. He was cutting her off completely.

Soul helped Maka down from the bike, careful not to touch her in a way that would seem too intimate. He could tell that whatever had gotten into her was still very much there, just slightly more dormant now that they weren't actively going at it. He had blocked Maka out of his mind to keep her from seeing the doubt and fear piling up inside it.

What had he been thinking? Not only could he have seriously hurt or even killed her, but they had nearly had sex—thus breaking pretty much the most important law in history. Still, he was thinking the same thing she was: how good it felt, how badly he wanted her, how much he had just wanted to ram her into that headboard until she screamed his name. That couldn't be normal for a vampire. He couldn't let it happen again.

The two walked up to the doors of Stein's lab, walking down through the dark hallway until they found him in the room at the end. He was typing away at a computer, muttering to himself and glancing back every now and then at the microscope next to him. Soul cleared his throat and Stein turned and looked at them as though surprised to see them.

"Oh. There you two are."

"What was it you wanted to see us for?" Soul asked, crossing his arms. Behind him, Maka stretched and yawned. Stein beckoned them over.

"Here," he said, "look into this microscope."

Soul did so, then pulled back and looked at Stein with a raised eyebrow. "And what exactly am I looking at?"

"Your venom," Stein answered cheerily, turning back to his computer and tapping away at the keyboard. "Or, rather, part of it. I left it to set for a little while and it separated."

"Separated?"

"Yes. Much in the way that blood would. I might not have been able to see the places where it separated had I not been staring at it like an author with writer's block. So, I took each of the three different sections and placed them each in their own vial. Now, I'm studying them each individually. This particular section, I found," he said, a graph of some kind appearing on his computer, "is a liquid closely resembling the essence of _Passiflora incarnata_, or the passionflower."

"And…what exactly is that?" Soul asked.

"An aphrodisiac," Stein said simply. "The passionflower's vine, leaves, and stem contain chemicals that both enhance sexual desire and produce a calming effect, along with relieving depression and even decrease pain."

"Huh. Sounds like a damn useful flower." _Sure fucking explains Maka tonight._

"Indeed…but by studying the chemical makeup of the aphrodisiac in your venom and comparing it to that of the passionflower, it appears as if instead of producing a calming effect, the venom instead _weakens_ the victim, to the point of them collapsing, even."

"I can see how that part might be relevant, but what use would a drug to get your victim horny be to a vampire?"

"I have no idea. My best guess would be that perhaps the sexually enhancing properties aren't intended for human victims, that maybe it's for engaging in sexual activity with other vampires, but I couldn't know unless I somehow observed vampires in their natural habitat, wherever that is."

Soul sighed. "Well, I can tell you right now, when I got bitten I felt anything _but_ horny. What's up with that?"

Stein, too, sighed. "I don't know, Soul. Give me some more time to research and I'll keep you updated."

"Well if this is all you knew, why'd you drag us out here?"

"Just to let you know I made progress." Stein turned back around in his chair to look at them. "You can go back home if you like."

Soul pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked back at Maka, who had fallen soundly asleep sitting against the wall. Soul could sense that whatever had been in her system—probably the aphrodisiac—had pretty much faded now. He remembered what he had been thinking about earlier and turned back to Stein.

"Actually, I have a couple questions."

"Hm?"

"Well…see…" Soul turned somewhat red. "I-is it normal for a vampire to…well…get turned on?"

Looking at him evenly, Stein replied, "Yes. Vampires have to reproduce, too."

"Why? Can't they just go around turning humans and taking over the world or something?"

"I thought I explained this. Even if vampires were to try and turn humans, there are several risks involved: mainly, the extremely low rate of survival. Secondly, the risk of getting themselves killed. Also, vampires are normally very secluded; they're not generally known to do something like trying to take over the world. Think about it, why would they? Then there's the fact that even if they did somehow wipe out the human race completely, they would all die out eventually anyway. Therefore, reproduction is pretty much essential either way."

There was silence for a little bit. Then, Soul dared to ask, "So…what would happen if a human and a vampire were to have a baby together?"

"That's just the problem, Soul. Nobody knows. Some believe that it would be pretty much the most dangerous being on earth. Some think that it would go cannibalistic and try to eat itself, a living paradox. Still more theorize that it would be a normally functioning person, able to survive off both human food and blood. The law is in place so that no-one finds out the hard way."

Soul nodded slowly, then turned back to look at Maka.

"And one more thing."

"Hm?"

"…what will happen to me and Maka? Our partnership?"

Stein took his glasses off and cleaned them on his lab coat, sighing. "Well…I've thought about that a bit myself. I was afraid to have to tell you this, Soul, but…vampires…they're literally the undead. They have no soul. And without a soul," he looked at Soul solemnly, "chances are you wouldn't be able to match soul wavelengths with her. Which means you may never be able to partner with her in that way again."

Something died inside of Soul just then. Never be able to partner with her again…he couldn't imagine never feeling her firm grip on him again, never feeling that adrenaline rush of being swung through the air…he would lose almost everything he had with her. But he hid his disappointment as best he could.

"Well…I better get Maka home."

Soul walked over to Maka and picked her up bridal style, but before he walked out, he turned and asked, "Hey, Stein. One more thing. If that antidote is so rare, how did all three of us have it?"

Pushing his glasses back on, Stein said simply, "Sheer dumb luck."

* * *

**A/N: Got a couple more answers there, with even more questions...will Soul ever be able to partner with Maka again? Is Maka getting a few ideas after that little "aphrodisiac" incident? Stay tuned to find out!**


	16. Stargazer

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. :P**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 16: Stargazer (6 Months Later)**

"Hey, Soul," Maka said, rousing Soul from his catnap on the couch. "We should go out and do something together."

"Why?"

"Well, we haven't in such a long time...ever since all that crap six months ago, we've been training the other two boys and kind of teaching them how to function in society and all that..."

She wandered over to the window and propped her chin up on the windowsill. As she gazed out at the twinkling, night-shrouded city, she mused, "We haven't even gone on a mission because you can't turn into a weapon anymore..."

Soul's heart sank. He remembered it, too. Several months ago, they had gone on a group mission with Black*Star and Tsubaki. Naturally, those two could work together just fine, Tsubaki could still transform and they fought together like normal, but Soul...for some reason, hadn't been able to turn into a scythe. He tried and tried and tried, but...for some reason, he just couldn't do it. He had focused on pulling his soul wavelength inside out, focused on dissolving into a scythe...according to Maka, who had been watching, he had glowed temporarily, looking like he was straining himself, but he couldn't transform.

Maka had had to sit on the sidelines while Soul fought the kishin with only his fangs and Black*Star.

Sighing, Soul looked down at where his ankles were crossed, propped up on the arm of the couch.

"So," he said after a moment of silence, "why do you suddenly wanna go out now? It's almost nine o' clock at night."

"Well, I can't sleep, and I know you're most active at night, so..."

"Yeah, but...why?"

"Well, think about it, Soul!" she cried, turning around and throwing her hands in the air. Putting her hands on her hips, she told him, "Last time we did something together was more than three months ago, remember? We went out to see Twilight and you were so horrified you dragged me out not ten minutes into the movie."

"Oh my fucking God, don't remind me," Soul groaned, swiping a hand down his face. He remembered that, too...driving home complaining that he'd never be able to show his face in public again. The next day at least three people on the street asked him to pull down the hood of his sweater so they could "see if he sparkled." And that wasn't even as bad as all the sudden fangirls...

_"Oh my God, look, it's Soul!"_

_"Hey, Kid!"_

_"Black*Star, over here!"_

_"Hey, Soul, can I ask you something?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"Can you turn me into a vampire~?"_

_"Wha-at?!"_

_"Hey, guys, come out here with us~" *giggle, giggle*_

Finally, Soul had broken down after a particularly daring girl had—well, he assumed it was supposed to be seductively—made a small cut on the side of her neck in front of him, inviting him to "take a little drink."

_"Oh, _hell _no! C'mon, guys, let's make a break for it!_"

_"That is it!_" Soul had told Maka when she got home, him still in a slight frenzy. _"I am dropping! You hear me?! Dropping! Out of school! And probably never leaving this house again!_"

And he hadn't, for about a week. He sighed, standing up.

"Alright, then. What do you wanna do?"

She looked at him. "Well...I've been thinking...the stars are supposed to be really bright tonight...but we'll never be able to see it here. Why don't we go out somewhere in the country?"

"And stargaze?"

She shrugged. "Yeah."

"Okay," Soul said nonchalantly, turning and tossing her a set of keys over his shoulder. "You're driving."

"But..." she looked helplessly down at the keyring in her hands. "I...I dunno how to drive."

Soul turned back around and looked at her incredulously. Then, shaking his head and laughing, he said, "Give me the keys. I'll show you."

* * *

"Alright, comfortable now?" Soul asked after readjusting Maka's seat. She rested her hands on the wheel and nodded. Soul shut her door and walked around to the passenger seat.

"Alright. Car's on, now hold down the brake and put it in drive."

"Shouldn't you learn with a stick shift first?"

"Look, this one's all I got. If you would rather wait for me to somehow buy a stick, fine."

"No, no, I got it."

"You got it?"

"I-it won't move."

"Oh my God, pull it towards you first."

"Okay, got it now."

"Alright. Now, slowly, let go of the—OHMYFUCKMAKABRAKEBRAKEBRAKE!"

Maka held down the brake and glared over at Soul, who was clinging onto the assist handle for dear life.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You hit the accelerator..."

"Aren't you supposed to?"

"Not yet."

"What?"

"Okay, just...very slowly let go of the brake. The car will move on its own."

After a little while of inching slowly forward, Soul instructed her to push down a little bit on the accelerator, yelling at her to stop when they sped up too quickly. A long yelling match followed.

"All I did was touch the damn pedal!"

"Well don't touch it so fast then!"

"You—"

"Hey..." Soul suddenly opened the door and stepped out onto the road. They were pretty far out from the city now, not too far, but far enough that the glare of the lights didn't get in the way of the stars. Far enough that there shouldn't be any traffic out, especially not at this hour. "Put the car in park and come see this. Better yet, just turn it off."

Maka did as she was told and stepped out of the car, standing next to Soul. She followed his gaze, up into the sky, where the stars glittered brighter than she'd ever seen them. They looked so much bigger, and there were so many more of them...there had to be trillions just in this little section of sky alone...

Maka had a bit of a love for astronomy, an appreciation for the infinite size and complexity of the universe. She stared, fascinated, into the sky, then reached over and took Soul's hand. He looked at their hands intertwined for a moment, then followed her as she led him back to the car, the two of them sitting side-by-side with their backs against it. Together they stared up at the stars, not saying a thing.

Maka smiled softly.

"Hey, Soul."

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking...well, you know, the earth is really big compared to us and all, but you could fit a million Earths into the sun..."

"Mhm?" He turned to look at her. She was still staring, spellbound, into the sky.

"And then the sun looks barely existent next to stars like Eta Carinae...and even that looks puny next to Betelgeuse, which is only about half the size of the largest star in the universe...it's a billion times larger than the sun...and the sun is a million times the size of Earth...and then there's us. Just kinda makes you think about how insignificantly small you are, huh?"

Soul laughed. "Yeah, but don't say that to Black*Star."

She laughed as well, then pointed into the sky. "Look! A falling star!"

Soul playfully grabbed her shoulders, circling one arm around her and holding her close. "Quick, make a wish!" he grinned. He looked over at her as she stared up into the sky. After a little while, she grinned. Soul smiled affectionately at her. She had been right; this was a good idea. Especially after that "Twilight" fiasco...he found that he just loved being here with her. It was just the two of them, underneath the stars...but best of all, she was happy. That was something that he just didn't get to see a lot anymore. He took a mental picture in his mind of this moment.

"Hey, Soul?"

Soul snapped out of his trance. "Yeah?"

She didn't actually say anything, just leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. Soul looked at her and smiled, rubbing her back a little bit. He squeezed her lightly as the two of them looked back up at the twinkling sky. _This is perfect_, Soul thought. Just sitting with his partner, his mate, looking at the clear, sparkling sky, crickets and owls singing, and holding her in his arms. He knew that this moment couldn't last forever, but he committed every detail to memory—the cool air, Maka's warmth, even the steady rhythm of her breathing—so that he could hold onto the memory forever.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there's a fluffy little downtime chapter for you guys! Probably just gonna keep all the action to a low for a little while; I think everybody deserves a break after all they've been through. Maybe putting a little Black*Star X Tsubaki into the next one~ Stay tuned and we'll see! c;**


	17. Fallen Star

**Disclaimer: Still no ownage of Soul Eater.**

Vampire's Kiss

**Chapter 17: Fallen Star**

The front doors of the DWMA burst open, sending a gust of hot outside wind into the hallway. There in the doorway stood a dark, shrouded figure. It slowly glided forward, towards the crowd of shocked, curious students staring in awe.

Those faces of awe quickly turned to disappointed sweatdrops.

"BOW DOWN, TINY MORTALS, TO YOUR VAMPIRE GOD!" Black*Star proclaimed, throwing an arm out from under his sparkling, flowing cloak. Slightly behind and next to him, a more-than-a-little irked Soul groaned.

"You have no shame, do you, Jareth?" he grumbled.

"And should I?!" Black*Star yelled. "No! I am now the most powerful meister in the Academy with my newly granted vampire powers—_ack!_"

Black*Star flew down the corridor a ways before sliding face-first across the floor, students parting to let him slide by. Soul looked over in appreciation at Kid, who was holding the Thompson sisters in their pistol form, obviously just having shot Black*Star.

"Is that so?" Kid said. He straightened up and walked over to Black*Star, kicking him lightly in the side. "You should really stop being so pretentious. That kind of an attitude will get you staked."

The rest of the group walked past Black*Star, Soul grumbling, "All the glitter after that damn Twilight bullshit…"

"You love your best friend, Soul, remember that," Maka said.

Tsubaki helped up Black*Star and made sure he was okay (he insisted he was despite the fact that his back was scorched and one of his fangs was chipped) before beginning to walk to class with him.

Nobody looked at the vampires as they passed by until they had passed by them. That was just how it had been for a while. Never look at the Vampire Clan. They were considered elite. Both feared and respected. Respected out of fear. Stare at them and they'll stare back into your soul. They hadn't chosen to be that way, but that was how the rest of the Academy viewed them. The "elite" kids. At first Soul had strutted the halls glaring at anyone who dared steal a glance at him or Maka—especially Maka—but soon realized how stupid and redundant it seemed. Nobody was gonna attack him anyway, why was be being so defensive? He sighed and stared straight ahead, Maka clinging to his arm, the two of them quite aware of the hundreds of kids staring holes into their backs.

Black*Star didn't bother making eye contact either, but not for the same reasons as Soul.

"They should have at least stared in awe or something," he grumbled.

"Well, Black*Star…they did…until you started yelling about being a vampire god."

"That's why they should have stared in awe!"

"And you are wearing a sparkling cape," Kid added, hand-in-hand with Liz.

"Yeah," Soul added, "Does 'Twilight fiasco' ring a bell?"

"Tch." Brief silence followed. Then, Black*Star turned to Tsubaki. "Hey. Can I talk to you after class?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Great. Meet me out on the roof."

Tsubaki's breath caught a little. The roof? What was so important that he had to take her up there for? She mentally shrugged it off for now. Black*Star was always so full of surprises…

* * *

Black*Star propped one foot up on the side of the railing, waiting for Tsubaki to come out. He gulped. Damn, was he really about to do this? Was he allowed to? _Who cares? I'm a god anyway, I can do whatever I want. But…_

"S-sorry I took so long," he heard Tsubaki say, "I was helping Maka out with something."

"No big deal," he said, waving his hand dismissively. There was a short silence. Both of them could feel the tension in the atmosphere.

"So…what is it you needed to talk to me about?" Tsubaki asked quietly. Black*Star gulped again. Shit, he hadn't thought of how to start this off! He wracked his brains for something to say.

"Well…" he started, not looking at her. "You know how…people always have secrets, right?"

"Y-yes…?"

"Well…e-even gods have secrets."

Short silence. Black*Star had no clue where he was going with this; he was just going with whatever came into his head and trusting himself to make sense.

He went on, "And…well…I have a secret." He turned as he said this, a bead of sweat rolling down his face, forcing himself to look Tsubaki in the eye. She looked at him, confused but trying to sympathize.

"A-and I don't think it should be a secret. Because I'm too big of a star to be keeping secrets. Everybody should know what I think, right?"

Tsubaki nodded, despite having no clue what he was talking about.

"And I thought you should be the first to know." More sweat coated his hairline, dripping down the sides of his face. Tsubaki could see he was tense; his shoulders were pulled back, back straight. As though he were standing at attention. She cocked her head a little bit.

"Black*Star…is this…what I think it is?"

Black*Star watched Tsubaki's face turn a light shade of red and knew that she had caught on. Of course she caught on. She was smart. That was part of the reason why he liked her. Flushing red and turning away, he crossed his arms and demanded, "S-so what if I like you? Stein just said we couldn't sleep together, right?"

Tsubaki stared at him for a little bit, then ran up and hugged him, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, I guess so," she grinned.

He looked over at her, a little unsure what to do at this point. Then, realizing what she meant, he smiled softly at her and put his hand on her head, laying his head on hers. They stared out at the city together, just a shadow weapon and a fallen star.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not even sure if I like the way that turned out, but, by all means, let me know if you do! ****chelsea-chee****, you especially since you were one of the ones who requested it. xD Stay Tuned, might have a bit of a plot-twister coming up next chapter!**


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